Stare
by Xx.BiteMeh.xX
Summary: His life was normal and he thought his future was already laid out and the his world seemed to be just that simple. But when he first saw her, he just couldn't help but stare. Re-continued!
1. Allegiances

From my Create-a-Cat!

Summary: **Stormpaw has always wanted to be a normal apprentice with a normal life, to fight for his Clan and to be loyal to the Warrior code. But when Juniperpaw, an abandoned loner, joins another Clan, Stormpaw finds himself falling for her. But this is against the Warrior code, how could the two possibly be together? But a prophecy is sent from StarClan, a prophecy about a forbidden love that could possible save the Clans…**

**SunClan: **

Leader: Redstar: A reddish-orange tom with dull amber eyes, one white forepaw. He is a bit wary, and doesn't trust many cats unless they are close to him, and he is very defensive of his Clan.

Deputy: Coldstare: A white tom with bright blue eyes. Coldstare is a self assured cat who is rude to those who don't respect him and hates the other clans.

Med. Cat: Redfeahter: She-cat with dark red fur and feathery white whiskers. Kind, thoughtful, she can sometimes be forgetful though

Med. Cat Apprentice: Brightpaw: pretty silver tabby, with ice-blue eyes. Shy and silent.

Warriors:

1. Whitethorn: Large sized tom with white fur and green eyes. Loyal, fierce in battle, and often grumpy. **Apprentice:** Larkpaw

2. Ripplepool: Blue she-cat with darker tabby stripes and hazel eyes. Calm, loyal, and easily annoyed with her clan mates or the other clan cats. **Apprentice**: Alderpaw

3. Talonstrike: A reddish-brown tom with leafy green eyes. Talonstrike is a joker, he loves to laugh, and can make even the most humorless cats laugh. **Apprentice:** Juniperpaw

4. Briarblossom: Golden colored she cat with cream colored muzzle and blue eyes. Acts like a mom to everyone, but secretive about Alderpaw's father. **Apprentice: **Wolfpaw

5. Haretail: Light brown tom with an abmormally short and fluffy white-tipped tail. Green eyes. Slightly pushy and arrogant, likes to pick on the apprentices and younger warriors but is still very loyal to his clan and a bit of a Mama's boy. **Apprentice: **Ashpaw

6. Brackenberry: Golden tabby tom with dark brown colored ears and cream underbelly. Green eyes. Blunt and straightforward, doesn't take anyone's foxdung. **Apprentice: **Dawnpaw

7. Grasswhistle: Light gray tabby tom with grass green eyes and large paws. Joking and sarcastic, but very excited that he's going to be a father and still moons over Cloudpelt like the day she agreed to be his mate.

8. Splashface: Black tom with a white muzzle and hazel eyes. Splashface is a calm cat who is easy going and typically levelheaded. **Apprentice:** Berrypaw

9. Foxsplash: Gray tom with Ginger splashes and blue eyes. Like a fox, he is sly and extremely cunning. Sneaky and very mean.

10. Nightbreeze: Black tom with green-blue eyes. He is a talkative tom who never seems to shut up.

11. Littlebird: Little gold she-cat with intelligent gray is a quiet she-cat that almost never talks and is yet, the smartest cat in her clan. She is very perceptive and observant and notices the slightest changes. She can read faces very easily, and can usually tell what others are feeling or thinking. Littlebird is also very calm and her emotions never get out of hand. She is not judgemental and treats other fairly, even if they are kittypets, loners, or rogues.

Apprentices:

1. Larkpaw: Pretty tawny she-cat with dark brown paws. Ice blue eyes. Shy, but sweet and kind. She gets easily distracted and loves helping anyone in need.

2. Alderpaw: Light tan tabby tom with dark brown stripes (tabby part). Prematurely gray muzzle and amber eyes. Very loyal and determined, though at times can act kind of daft. Likes to daydream, which at times gets him in trouble.

3. Juniperpaw: Juniperpaw is a beautiful light ginger, yellow, and gold she cat with soft white stripes on her back and a white underbelly, muzzle, paws, and tail tip. She has piercing dark green eyes and a long, curved, unusually neat scar that runs along her muzzle. She is an unusual she cat. She isn't your regular bubbly apprentice who is kind, helpful, and clumsy. She is in fact almost the opposite. All her life, she has worn a mask. Nobody knows her true nature and personality. She can be polite, graceful, and generous in one moment, and the next, she can be a ruthless fighting machine. Outside, she is stoic, coldly polite, and cruel, but inside, beyond the cold brick wall she built around her heart, she holds an incredible amount of passion, warmth, and ability to love. She seems to believe that to become happy again, she must remain alone, to prevent her from hurting herself again. She also has very unexpected mood changes and it is hard to calm her down when she is angry.

4. Wolfpaw: Pretty silver she cat with sleek fur and light amber eyes. Wolfpaw is a stuck up, arrogant she cat that believes she is the best fighter and hunter in the entire clan. She thinks that she deserves to be leader and looks down upon everyone, especially Juniperpaw. Wolfpaw is also very simpleminded and lacks judgment and conversation skills. All she talks about is how she is wonderful at everything.

5. Ashpaw: Handsome smoky-gray (almost raven-black) tom, with chocolate brown eyes, and lighter gray muzzle, paws, under-belly, and tail-tip. Dense, caring, and brave. He attracts she-cats with his heroics, but he's so dense, he never realized this.

6. Dawnpaw: pretty silver-blue tabby she-cat, with dazzling sapphire-eyes. Confident, and sweet. She sticks up for her friends, and is fierce in battle. Toms are attracted to her.

7. Berrypaw: Cream tom. Most sassy cat in the Clans.

Queens:

1. Brindlefur: light ginger fur with many overlapping stripes and amber eyes. Nice-happy-go-lucky, very friendly and loving and kind to all. Expecting Whitethorn's kits.

2. Frostcloud: A very pregnant she cat with long silvery-white fur and blue eyes. A soft spoken cat who is not much of a talker but has a great sense of humor. Expecting Talonstrike's kits.

3. Cloudpelt: White-furred she-cat with wide blue eyes. Expecting Grasswhistle's kits.

4. Violetwisp: Gray she cat with violet eyes. A soft spoken and gentle queen who is very loving and kind.

Kits:

1. Smokeykit: Gray she cat with black spots and green eyes. A determined little cat who is always trying to be the best.

2. Lavenderkit: Gray she-cat with white paws and violet eyes. A gentle cat who is constantly trying to help out other kits.

3. Frostkit: Gray she-cat with white dapples and blue eyes. An icy cat who is cruel and extremely mean.

4. Pantherkit: Black tom with green eyes. He is a shy cat and doesn't talk very much.

5. Hailkit: White tom with blue eyes. A confident cat who is very brave and loyal.

6. Dapplekit: A mostly white calico she-cat with Ginger and black dapples. Nervous and extremely jumpy most of the time.

Elders:

1. Tanglepath: Tanglepath is a small, dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes and white paws. Tanglepath is very easy-going and relaxed. He prefers just laying around and telling kits stories than doing anything too vigorous. Although he was reluctant to retire at first, he realized what a peaceful life he could have afterwards. Tanglepath doesn't have a lot of rude things to say, and is pretty open and friendly.

2. Graystorm: Graystorm is a broad-shouldered pale gray tabby tom with blue eyes. Graystorm is a huge jokester, and always telling jokes whether they actually be good or just plain corny. He tends to make everyone laugh, even the most cranky warrior. Graystorm has a naturally likeable personality.

3. Sandbreeze: Sandbreeze is a sleek light ginger she-cat with bright blue eyes. Sandbreeze has a sharp tongue and a quick wit, making her the kind of elder that some kits can be scared of at times. Once you talk to her you realize her intentions are not harm, and they never will be. Sandbreeze is pretty easy-going around Graystorm and Tanglepath.

**RockClan:**

Leader: Hailstar: Hailstar is a big, battle-scarred solid dark gray tom with amber eyes and white paws. Hailstar is very wise and quick-thinking. In bad situations, his reactions in split seconds and he definitely knows how to take control of his clan and keep them calm. Hailstar never lets his Clan get to out of line, and maintains authority well, still being strong but being compassionate and smart. Hailstar was never super strict with others, but go against him and you'll definitely hear from him.

Deputy: Fallsnow: Pale she-cat with a white pelt and big blue eyes. She has a bright pink nose, and at the tip of her ears there are black markings. She looks delicate in fragile, but she's the total opposite of that. She's really ruthless and ambitious, but she'd never hurt a Clanmate or anyone she likes. Prepared to go to the limits to reach her goals, she doesn't like people stopping her. A really skilled fighter and hunter, decent in tracking. Doesn't have much endurance though, but you don't see that stopping her.

Med. Cat: Mistpetal: Mistpetal is a light gray she-cat with green eyes. Mistpetal is shy cat who rarely ventures out of the medicine cat den and has this terrible stutter. She stammers and has issues with getting along with others.

Med. Cat Apprentice: Goldenpaw: Goldenpaw is a golden she-cat with brown tabby stripes and brown eyes. She is loving cat who is very gentle and extremely level headed. Goldenpaw is sweet natured and caring.

Warriors:

1. Puddlesplash: Puddlesplash is a broad-shouldered blue gray tom with black paws and green eyes. Puddlesplash is very easy-going and loving. He has a deep affection for his kits and his mate, and spends a lot of time with them because he doesn't want to be an absent father. Puddlesplash is a cat that kits and apprentices would look up to. **Apprentice: **Icepaw

2. Driftstep: Driftstep is a light brown tom with gray patches and amber eyes. Driftstep is typically very quiet and patient. He is a good teacher, and many go to him for advice. Although Nightpaw annoyed him at first, he has begun to look at her almost like his daughter. He is very skilled in hunting, one of the best in the Clan, but isn't the best fighter. **Apprentice: **Nightpaw

3. Stonetumble: A gray tabby tom with blue eyes and darker tabby stripes. He doesn't talk very much and hardly ever acknowledges the other cats. **Apprentice: **Dragonpaw

4. Wolfgrowl: A gray tom with white paws and amber eyes. He is a rude and often mean cat who bullies everyone, even his mate. **Apprentice: **Amberpaw

5. Blizzardhowl: A white tom with brown eyes. He is a courageous cat who never gives up in a fight and is very brave. **Apprentice: **Wolfpaw

6. Echofall is a sleek black she-cat with ice-blue eyes. Echofall is rather quiet. She may look soft and innocent, but you will soon learn that she is not afraid to stand up for herself and voice her opinions. She is a patient teacher and a wise decision maker, and always thinks about things and considers them before leaping into things. Echofall is usually pretty wise, and always teaches others lessons. She is a fierce fighter, and always proves herself every time she goes to battle.

7. Frostwing: Frostwing is a small, long-legged silver she-cat with dark green eyes. Frostwing is not to be underestimated because of her size. She definitely has a sharp tongue, and is not afraid to use it. Frostwing will snap on you if you even think for a second that she is weak. Other cats don't know who she really is, and are shocked when they find out how fierce she is. Frostwing pretty much aways has something sarcastic to say, to everything.

8. Eagletalon: Eagletalon is a broad-shouldered pale gray tom with green eyes. Eagletalon has a natural easy-going and laid-back personality. He doesn't have a serious bone in his body, and never treats anyone too harshly. Eagletalon is gentle with those around him, and always patient. He doesn't have a snappy personality, and doesn't like to rush through life in general.

9. Brightfire: Brightfire is a long-legged ginger and white she-cat with green eyes. "Fire" is in her name for a reason. She is feisty and outspoken, and not afraid to voice her opinions. Sometimes she is a bit too loud, and others think she is sometimes disrespectful. Brightfire does not do this intentionally, that's just how she's always been.

10. Screechcall: Screechcall is a big black and white tom with a long tail and green eyes. Screechcall is very cunning and intelligent. He always has a solution to everything, because he knows how to think things through and come up with plans. He has a leader-air about him, but isn't ambitious to ever have power. He is patient, and usuall pretty understanding.

Apprentices:

1. Iciclepaw: Lacey is a small snowy white she-cat with long fur. She looks slightly kittypet-ish. Her eyes are oval shaped and brown. She has a small pink nose and pink gums. Her tail long and slightly feathery. Sometimes her fur gets tangled because it's so long. Because she is not the best hunter, Iciclepaw is rather small. There is the tiniest bit of black on her ears and paws.

2. Stormpaw: Stormpaw is a big, pure black tom with dark green eyes. He has quite the formidable look going for him, and will one day be a cat that's feared because of looks. Stormpaw may look super formidable and fierce, but he is actually very compassionate and respectful. He is rarely caught doing anything bad, and is a hard-worker. He trains and hunts to the best of his ability, and is trying to live up to the greatness of his father. Stormpaw is usually pretty welcoming and easy-going, and has a sharp intelligence and knack for figuring others out. He is pretty gentle with others, and isn't very sharp, except in battle. When in battle, or at any other time that it is needed, Stormpaw can turn fierce and knows when to stand up and never get down. He will fight to the death as many times as he needs to, and is super protective over his sister and other cats he has strong relationships with.

3. Icepaw: Icepaw is a snow white she-cat (unusual for RockClan) with bright green eyes. She has a pretty innocent look to her, and no one would believe she can actually be feisty. Icepaw is a usually gentle and patient she-cat. She doesn't really have a temper, at ALL, and doesn't seem like she could hurt a fly. Icepaw is the peacemaker of the apprentices, and often breaks up petty quarrels and fights between the others. Icepaw can sometimes be a bit of a chatterbox, and rambles about random things. She's definitely got a quirky and unique personality.

4. Nightpaw: Nightpaw is a lithe and sleek pure black she-cat with ice blue eyes. She has tiny flecks of dark gray throughout her pelt and her ear is split. Nightpaw is very bubbly and outgoing. She is a total chatterbox, and is a very eager learner. She is always raring to go, and is super energetic. You will rarely find her sitting still, and she can get a bit annoying sometimes with her questions and eagerness, but you still love her nonetheless.

5. Dragonpaw: A ginger tom with a darker patch around his right eye. Never listens to what any cat says so he often gets into trouble

6. Amberpaw: A small gray she-cat with amber eyes. She is a rigid, uncaring, ruthless, mean, and militaristic

7. Wildpaw: Wildpaw is a long-legged bright golden coloured she-cat with deep amber eyes. She has a scar down her right shoulder from when she got in a fight with a badger. Wildpaw definitely does not look innocent. She is definitely fierce and extremely feisty. She hates to back down in bad situations, and often thinks of surviving first and consequences later. To a lot, she comes off as hostile, but once you get to know her you will realize how desperate she is for someone.

Queens:  
>1. Sagewhisker: Sagewhisker is a long-furred dark gray she-cat with bright blue eyes and black stripes. Sagewhisker is very calm and collected. She is very level-headed and is pretty optimistic about everything that happens. She never puts anyone down and prefers to think things through rather than being judgmental.<p>

2. Speckledsparrow: Gray she cat with white, black, and dark gray dapples and hazel eyes. Speckledsparrow is a very free spirited cat who has a rough exterior. She acts all tough and talks a big game, but on the inside she's very sensitive.

3. Darkleaf: A black she-cat with green eyes. She is a pushover who will do anything for her kit

4. Pebblefall: She is a gray she cat with hazel eyes. She misses being a warrior greatly and has always loved serving her clan.

Kits:  
>1. Talonkit: A small, dark brown tabby tom with black patches and green eyes<p>

2. Eaglekit: A solid pale gray tabby tom with blue eyes

3. Mountainkit: A dark gray and black tabby tom with green eyes

4. Tumbliekit: A light gray tom with black feet and hazel eyes. He is an aggressive cat who is extremely pushy and always has to get what he wants.

5. Sparrowkit: A light gray tabby she-cat with black tabby stripes and hazel eyes. Sparrowkit is a goofy little she-cat who loves to laugh and is a real joker.

6. Mosskit: A little gray she-cat with green eyes. She is a bossy kit who is a real nag and always wants more than she has.

Elders:  
>1. Mallowcloud: Mallowcloud is a long-furred once-beautiful pale gray she-cat with light blue eyes. Mallowcloud is rather gentle, and is never sharp about anything. She doesn't scold others, and is always trying to make Frozenfoot more sociable. She is out-going, and a bit forgetful, but she is still sweet and patient.<p>

2. Frozenfoot: Frozenfoot is a coal-black tom, with big silvery-white paws and amber eyes. Frozenfoot is usually rather grumpy and unsociable. He is easily irritated, and doesn't have a big taste for kits. He hates when others get under his paws, and is kind of snappish. Mallowcloud is one of the only cats who can calm him down, but he is still pretty unhappy most times.

**WaterClan: **

Leader: Runningstar: A black tom with a white stripe running down his spine and pale blue eyes. Down to earth and calm, it takes a lot to get his stressed but it also takes a lot to get his praise.

Deputy: Morningfern: A long golden furred she-cat with a brown chest paws and underbelly. Dark green eyes she is surprisingly sharp and fierce for her appearance and would fight for her clan to the death if it meant it would save them. She has strong motherly instincts and lots of cats would come to her for advice, she feels strongly for Runningstar.

Med. Cat: Songbird: Silvery gray she cat with small splashes of light gold and light ginger on her legs and sides. She has soft white markings on her back, almost like feathers. She has bright amber eyes. Songbird is a very wise and compassionate medicine cat that believes in the warrior code strongly and cares deeply for her patients and her clan. She is very empathetic and sympathetic and many cats come to her for support, comfort, or advice. She is a wonderful problem solver, observer, and listener who is very patient and understanding with others.

Med. Cat Apprentice: Sandpaw: Black tom with white chin to bottom tip of tail and brown eyes. He is enthusiastic and loving

Warriors:  
>1. Cedarfang: A big, dark gray tabby, almost black tom with amber eyes. Quiet and is rarely harsh. He is a nice and easy-going cat. <strong>Apprentice: <strong>Mistypaw

2. Darkbreeze: A beautiful sleek, pure black she-cat with golden-amber eyes. **Apprentice: **Rainpaw

3. Riverpath: a big, blue-gray short-furred tom with green eyes and black flecks. **Apprentice: **Lightpaw

4. Birdsong: Petite light brown, light ginger, and light gold tabby she cat with beautiful deep blue eyes and nimble limbs. Birdsong is a delicate young she cat with a carefree and thoughtful personality. She is limitless and is willing to try anything. She is outgoing, yet quiet and loves tranquility. She is very graceful and light with her feet, and sometimes, when she runs, it almost seems as if she is flying like a bird. **Apprentic: **Echopaw

5. Graywing: Misty gray she cat with feathery patches of white fur on her back, almost like wings. She has stunning deep blue eyes. Graywing is one of the smartest cats in her clan. She is observant and has very keen senses and can almost predict what will happen next using her intellect and observations. She can notice the slightest changes and she is very persuasive. Graywing is very quiet and usually does not talk often. She knows the right way with people and seems to know when they are feeling down and knows the right way to cheer them up. **Apprentice: **Nightpaw

6. Breezestreak: jet-black tom, with pale black muzzle, and green eyes

7. Streamheart: White she-cat with a silver stripe down her back, and deep violet , Serene and quietly confident. Dedicated to the warrior code and is a skilled fighter.

8. Sorrelfrost: Sorrelfrost is a dark tortoiseshell she-cat with icy blue is very devious and cunny. She almost always outsmarts others, and she has quick wits. Her intelligence is sharp, as well as her claws, and she is very fiesty in battle. Sorrelfrost knows how to sneak around, but doesn't do it against her clan. She uses her cunning abilities to help others.

9. Rowanfall: Rowanfall is a big, pale gray tabby tom with amber eyes and black paws. Rowanfall is very outgoing and helpful. He is the cat who is always willing to help and give advice to others. He is really friendly and easy-going, and has a bit of a devious side. Rowanfall is very protective over Sorrelfrost, as she is his closest sibling.

10. Pineclaw: Pineclaw is rather sullen and hostile. He doesn't have a friendly bone in his body, and is rather unsociable. He likes his personal space, and snaps at others who try and bug him. He is rude and often doesn't care about others feelings.

Apprentices:

1. Rainpaw: A very dark gray tom with blue-gray flecks on his spine and dark blue eyes. He also has a blue-gray flash on his chest. He can be very impulsive witch gets him in trouble more often then not. but this is also a good things because he cares for his friends and family and would die for them if he had to. Despite this he is normally good to be around because of his joking nature but it doesn't take a lot to get him annoyed.

2. Mistypaw: Mistypaw is a pretty, slender she-cat whose pelt is a misty silver as if she were surrounded by fog. Her four paws are a snowy white as well as her ear tips and tail tip. Mistypaw's eyes are a sapphire blue that shine and shimmer when she's happy. She is a quiet, reserved and thoughtful she-cat.

3. Lightpaw: slender light brown tortoiseshell she-cat, with green eyes she is very trustworthy.

4. Echopaw: Light gold she-cat with blue eyes. Quiet but friendly.

5. Nightpaw: Night black tom with dark blue eyes. Friendly and clever.

Queens:  
>1. Hollyfrost: Long-furred pure silver she-cat with blue eyes and white paws. Out-going, friendly and is a chatterbox.<p>

2. Skycloud: pretty cream tortoishell she-cat,with a fluffy tail,and amber-eyes. Sweet,and caring. She is soft, and cheerful. Not so big on defending herself though. Good in battle, but not in a argument.

3. Sedgedapple: Sedgedapple is a pale gray she-cat with white paws and dark green is rather quiet. She is very gentle, and is always trying to help others. She doesn't have a viscious bone in her body, and prefers the nursery taking care of her kits than fighting. Sedgedapple likeswhen times are peaceful, and always worries about everyone else rather than herself.

4. Whitestreak: Whitestreak is a pure white and pale silver streaked she-cat with blue eyes. Whitestreak is very shy. She is young and doesn't like to stand up for herself. She doesn't speak often, and many others think she is weak. What they don't know is how fierce she could really be if needed.

Kits:

1. Hawkit: A small light brown tabby tom with dark blue eyes and  
>white paws.<p>

2. Stonekit: A stone gray solid tom with a white underbelly, chest and green eyes.

3. Featherkit: Pretty cream tortoishell, with faint gray patches, a bushy tail, and green-eyes. Featherkit is mischievious, and intelligent despite her size. She is fierce, and sassy, but has a gentle heart underneath.

4. Spottedkit: A small tortoiseshell and white she-cat with amber eyes.

5. Lakekit: A blue gray tom with green eyes.

6. Tigerkit: A dark brown tabby tom with black strieps and green eyes.

Elders:

1. Wetwing: Dark grey longhaired she-cat with dark green eyes. Has a scar above left ear, and has a white tipped tail and markings.

**TreeClan: **

Leader: Daplestar: Light brown she-cat with dappled paws and ears with amber eyes. Good hunter, fighter, kind and always makes the right decisions. **Apprentice:** Leafpaw

Deputy: Berrycloud: Berrycloud is a pretty gray tabby she-cat with white splotches. Berrycloud is a very cheery and optimistic she-cat. She is always looking on the bright side of things and always has something positive to say. She brightens everybody's day.

Med. Cat: Snowstream: Snowstream is a beautiful pure white she-cat with dark sapphire blue eyes. Snowstream has some of the most innocent looks you'll ever see, and you'd never guess that she had a sharp-tongue, but she does. She's almost like Cinderpelt in a way, gentle when she needs to be but not hesitant to shoo you away from her when you need to go away.

Med. Cat Apprentice: Gorseleap: Gorseleap is a small, bright ginger tom with green eyes and white stripes. Gorseleap is a very hard worker and an eager learner. He loves working with herbs and has an excellent memory when it comes to remembering them. Gorseleap has a sharp and intelligent memory, and often remembers the smallest details of things.

Warriors:

1. Hawkshadow: Hawkshadow is a big, light brown tabby tom with wide yellow eyes. He is a huge jokester, always telling them even if their good or just really bad. He likes to make others laugh, its his mission to not have one grumpy cat in TreeClan. **Apprentice:** Breezepaw

2. Hareleap: Hareleap is a small, light brown tabby tom with bright blue eyes. Hareleap is very energetic, and is always doing something, whether it be patrolling, hunting, or training. He's got a very unpredictable personality, and you never know what he was going to say next. Overall he's really friendly. **Apprentice: **Blizzardpaw

3. Flowerdapple: Flowerdapple is a pale ginger and white she-cat with bright green eyes. Flowerdapple is very shy, and almost never voices her true opinion. She is very soft, and is almost afraid to speak up. She is only really comfortable around her brother Hareleap, and her sister Snowstream makes her feel uncomfortable because they are polar opposites. **Apprentice: **Creekpaw

4. Brooksplash: A pale gray she-cat with light blue eyes. Very outgoing and friendly. Brooksplash is talkative and always  
>welcoming to others. She is never mean to anybody, and is usually pretty<br>gentle. **Apprentice: **Lionpaw

5. Blacktooth: A mangy looking pure black tom with amber eyes and big paws. Blacktooth is very serious and quiet. He doesn't really talk much, and is usually pretty grumpy. He acts kind of depressed and angry sometimes. **Apprentice: **Snakepaw

6. Fireblaze: A big bright ginger tom with mossy green eyes. Fireblaze is very energetic and usually hyper. He is always doing something, and is willing to help anyone out with anything. He can be kind of annoying. **Apprentice: **Serpentpaw

7. Jaggedfang: Jaggedfang is a massive light brown tabby tom with green eyes and blacks stripes. A very fierce fighter and kind of arrogant. He believes that he should one day be leader and he is stuck up. He always boasts about his "victories" and how great he is.

8. Streamcloud: Streamcloud is a long furred blue gray she-cat with ice-blue eyes. Streamcloud is secretive and quiet. She doesn't talk, like at all, and almost acts like she's sad. In reality she's just lost in her own daydreaming world. She is often caught staring into space or talking about cats no one has heard about before. She's an oddball.

9. Thornstrike: Talonstike is a big, broad-shouldered silver tom with black stripes and amber is rather wise and calm. He knows how to make good decisions, and is good at keeping others calm and safe during bad situations. Talonstrike can very easily take charge, and it isn't hard to trust him because of his same personality all his life.

Apprentices:  
>1. Breezepaw: silvery she cat with black stripes and green eyes. Very loyal to her friends she is also friendly but not that quick to trust others, she won't trust someone if they haven't earned it.<p>

2. Leafpaw: Leafpaw is a slender she-cat with a dark brown pelt and startling amber eyes. There are black stripes twisting down her tail, and she has even blacker paws. She looks pretty in cat standards, although not totally gorgeous. She has a friendly aura around her, and she has a pink nose. Leafpaw is friendly and nice, but doesn't like getting close to other cats. She's polite and hardworking. To the ones she loves Leafpaw is selfless, and will do anything to protect them. Inside, she's sort of lonely and wants someone… but hasn't found that cat yet.

3. Blizzardpaw: A big pure white fluffy tom with dark blue eyes. Blizzardpaw is a big boaster. He believes that he is going to be a great warrior, and he is always bragging about his accomplishments.

4. Creekpaw: Creekpaw is a small blue-gray tom with green eyes. Creekpaw is very shy and terribly nervous around others. He has trouble speaking up, and often stutters when he does try to say things or have an opinion.

5. Lionpaw: Lionpaw is a big, golden pelted tom with amber eyes. Lionpaw is fiercer than his brothers, and more hot-headed. He has a big temper that can show at any moment. Many she-cats pad after him, even though he can be a little feisty at times.

6. Snakepaw: Slender silver she cat with black stripes and icy blue eyes. Sinister and sly she cat that is incredibly malicious and clever. She is manipulative, persuasive, and sly.

7. Serpentpaw: Lithe silver tom with icy blue is always quiet, cold, and calculating. He has never laughed or smiled in his life and is very sinister and controlling. He is very, very intelligent and manipulates and uses his sister to do his dirty work. He has some sort of invisible power over others that enables him to achieve what he desires and order others around. He is very good at lying and acting and uses it to his advantage. Serpentpaw is also very ambitious and wishes to be leader very badly.

Queens:

1. Featherbreaze: Featherbreeze is a long furred pale gray she-cat with bright blue eyes. Featherbreeze is very sweet and caring. She is soft-spoken, and doesn't speak up often unless there is a dire situation. She is looked upon as weak, and even though she isn't she prefers staying in the nursery with the kits. Expecting Hawkshadow's kits.

2. Goldenpool: Goldenpool is a long-furred golden pelted she-cat with amber eyes. Goldenpool is very sweet and gentle. She hates violence, and rarely wants to fight or do anything of the sort. Goldenpool always speaks with a soft voice, and is patient with others.

3. Sweetflower: Sweetflower is a light brown and white tabby she-cat with pale blue eyes. Sweetflower is like her namesake, sweet. She is gentle and friendly, always welcoming others with her outgoing personality. She rarely snaps on anyone, and has a fierce loving devotion to her Clan. Expecting Thornstrike's kits.

Kits:  
>1. Silverkit: Silverkit is a sleek silver tabby she-cat with green eyes. Silverkit is very respectful and honest. She is a good listener, and is always trying to help others with thier problems even though she is still a kit. Silverkit is very adventurous and fun-loving, though she rarely gets into trouble.<p>

2. Owlkit: Owlkit is a tiny, fluffy dark gray she-kit with wide yellow eyes. Owlkit is a tiny bundle of energy. She is always running around, playing, helping others, or just finding something to do so she doesn't get bored. Owlkit never stops, and if you try to make her expect a long list of reasons why she shouldn't

3. Lilykit: A small dark gray she-cat with amber eyes. Lilykit is the more adventurous one, and a definite troublemaker.

4. Windkit: A pale creamy and white she-cat with blue eyes. Windkit is quiet and respectful.

Elders:

None

**Cats Outside of the Clans:**

Sandy: black tom with white chin to bottom tip of tail and brown eyes

Ice: dark gray tom with brown eyes. He is loving and intrested in anything that involes being a warrior

Rain: dark brown she-cat with blue/green eyes. She is loving and caring about others

Spot: light gray she-cat with white chest to bottom tip of tail, one light blue eye and one brown eye. She is loving and caring about others

Ratchet: Massive light brown tabby tom with dark, forest green eyes.

Aspen: Slender light gold, light ginger,and dark ginger dappled she cat with deep blue eyes and a white underbelly, tail tip, and is a quiet but bold she cat that is a natural born leader. She is very wise and thoughtful for a kit her age, and always willing to give others her advice and help. She is abnormally very intelligent, and perceptive and she knows how to keep calm and find a solution to a problem in tough situations.

Blizzard: Frosty white tom with rough, weatherbeaten fur and stormy blue eyes with gray and calm tom that is patient, understanding, and intelligent. He is always a source of comfort and reassurance.

Robin: Light gray she cat with large splotches of light ginger fur and dark ginger spots. She has leaf green eyes. Adventurous and outgoing she cat that is cheerful and bright.

Feather: Petite and fluffy white and light gray she cat with pale blue eyes and a small nick in her ear. Feather is a shy and gentle she cat that is carefree an loves to daydream. She is thoughtful, patient, and compassionate and cares a lot about her siblings.


	2. Chapter 1: Aurora

The she-cat felt herself shiver. Coldness swept through her and she tried to curl up tighter. Cold wind and snow blew against her pelt. She was so cold, so cold that she couldn't feel her paws anymore, so cold that the pain of freezing had faded to numbness, and so cold, that she felt like giving up. She was hungry, cold and alone. Yes, alone. She had no one.

But not so long ago, she did have someone, someone who loved her, someone who she loved. But they were all gone. Dead, ran away, _gone._

And she had once again been forced to live alone. Alone in the middle of a blizzard.

The she-cat felt sick. Her empty stomach churned with hunger and it was aching from lack of food. Her head throbbed from the cold and-StarClan-she was _freezing_.

She felt herself drifting off, and she knew she wasn't going to wake up after this. But somehow, she felt at peace dying. She would be free from fear, from sadness, from happiness, from _life, _from her misrable, tragic life.

Then, she could hear the shuffling of paws and heard the muffled mews of cats. Normally, the she-cat would be alert, scared and prepared for battle. But now, she didn't care. She was dying. Let them take her, take her starving, scrawny body. She didn't care at all.

She was dimly aware of the voices around and she knew they were talking about her.

"Great StarClan!"

"Is she alive?"

"Barely."

"Poor thing..."

Something tugged at her fur, but she didn't fight back. She let them pull. _They're going to kill me. Kill me and eat my meatless body. _

Then, to her surprise, they didn't. One of the cats pressed against her, welcoming her warmth. She accepted it and was glad that the cold had eased slightly. Then, the cat covered her with licks.

"Wolfpaw, go get Redstar," a soft voice said and the she-cat knew it was the cat who was licking her.

"Why?" The young cat's voice was full of spite. "She's a rogue!"

"Wolfpaw," said a deep, cold voice. "Listen to your mentor."

There was a huff of annoyance, some grumbles, and then the pitter-patter of paws trailing away in the snow.

The she-cat found herself thinking of how odd these cats were, and she hated the younger cat already. Wolfpaw, was it?

"You poor thing..." It was the softer voice who spoke.

There was a grunt. "She's just a rogue, Briarblossom."

_I'm not a rogue. _The she-cat felt the numbness disappear, but pain returned. There was a low, cracking moan of devastaion and pain, and it didn't take long for the she-cat to realize it was her own.

"Hush," Briarblossom mumbled. Then, she pressed against the she-cat harder. "She's so cold..."

Cold? The she-cat was warmer than she had ever been in a long time.

The other cat gave a grunt of annoyance. "We're all cold, not just the stupid rogue."

"Shut up, Foxsplash."

The she-cat felt slightly amused at the conflict between the two cats. She felt warmth and humor bubble inside her, and she _liked _those feelings, the feelings she had not felt in a long time.

There was a sudden sound of cats' voices, breaking into the she-cat's thoughts and she suddenly felt wary and scared. She found herself pressing against Briarblossom. It was an embarrassing act, but she felt oddly safe close to the nice she-cat.

"There Redstar. That's the rogue we found." It was the young cat's voice again. Though Wolfpaw had sounded full of spite earlier, her voice was now sounding of pride. "Pretty good, huh? I smelled it myself."

"_She_," came the nice she-cat's voice. "_It's_ a_ she_."

A scoff. "Whatever. It's just some rogue."

The she-cat could feel anger pulse through her. Just a rogue? She was not even a rogue at all! She was part of a group of rogues, yes, but she never was one. She had a family that she loved and tried her hardest to care for. Was this what rogues did? No! She was _not_ a rogue. The she-cat growled and forced her eyes open. Weakness was gone and anger took it's place. She wasn't tired anymore, she wasn't near death anymore. She was _angry_. "I'm not a rogue," she replied, but her voice wasn't as she had hoped it to be. It came out strained from lack of water and food. Her voice sounded weak and raspy.

"You can't even _talk_," Wolfpaw snarled back, though the scent of shock clung to the pretty silver cat. Then, Wolfpaw scrunched up her face and began to mimic the she-cat. "I'm not a rogue. Ha!"

"_Wolfpaw_," Briarblossom scolded. "Stop it."

Wolfpaw cast a glance at Briarblossom, then glowered at the she-cat. She drew away.

The she-cat glared back. She felt her pelt bristle. She _hated_ Wolfpaw.

The reddish-brown tom that had came with Wolfpaw stepped forward and the she-cat had a feeling he was the leader of all these weird cats, though the red tom didn't seem to be a good one. He glanced at the she-cat, his amber eye's hardening in a protective gaze. "Who are you?"

The she-cat felt her weakness returning and she felt herself crumple down again. She gulped and forced the words out of her. "I-I am a loner," she replied softly, trying to make her voice sound as humble as possible.

The tom leaned forward, fear scent clinging to him. But this fear scent wasn't fear that the she-cat recognized, it was fear for others, fear for his group of cats. "_Who_ are you?"

The she-cat was furious at the way the tom had reacted to her, demanding everything. She rose to her paws, once again ignoring the fatigue dragging her down. "Why do you want to know?" she snarled back.

The other tom, Foxsplash, gave a huff of disgust. He curled his lip. "You idiot rogue! You are on SunClan territory and we have every right to know why you are here! You threaten our Clan once you take a step onto our territory-"

"Enough, Foxplash," Redstar growled. Wolfpaw grumbled something in annoyance that the she-cat couldn't catch about Redstar. Briarblossom cuffed her ear angrily.

The she-cat let her hackles lower as the red tom turned to her again. "As Foxsplash said"- there was a hiss of annoyance from Foxplash at this-"you are on our territory. We need to know what our threat is. Who are you?"

The she-cat blinked and felt her claws unsheathe under the leader's demanding gaze. Hesitating, she curled her lip and hissed, "My name is Aurora."

Briarblossom gave out a breath. "Beautiful name," she whispered and Foxsplash hissed at Briarblossom.

The she-cat tensed her muscles, returning the leader's gaze with a cold glare. "My name," she repeated stiffly, "is Aurora."

She waited for the leader to answer, but he just stood there, eyes narrowed at Aurora and studying her. So instead, Foxplash answered for him with a furious snarl. "What are you doing here?"

Aurora turned to him, hissing. "I'm cold, I'm hungry, and I just somehow found myself here, in the heart of the territory of some stupid cats who don't show any hospitatlity," she spat back.

Wolfpaw snorted before anyone else could make a remark. "So what if you're cold and hungry? Who even cares? Get out of our territory."

Aurora felt her muscles bunch inside her and she dug her claws deep into the snowy ground to stop herself form lunging at the other young she-cat. "You do not know what I've been through, idiot." As she said the words, she felt the scar on her muzzle tingle.

"Oh yeah? Have _you _ever been in a fight with cats more than twice bigger than you?" Wolfpaw hissed back. Then, before Aurora could answer, she continued. "I have, and you know where they are? They live just beisde us. RockClan they call themselves."

Aurora narrowed her eyes. RockClan? These cats were definitely weird.

"Now, let's calm down before a fight breaks out," Redstar mewed calmly, stepping forward.

"Redstar is right," Briarblossom said. Foxsplash didn't make a comment.

Redstar turned his head to Aurora, and she bristled. "What?" she asked angrily.

"You are an unusual cat, Aurora. A fighter. You came from near-death to a fighting she-cat, defending herself." Then, he purred and he settled down into the cold snow. "SunClan needs cats like that."

Aurora couldn't help but feel satisfied at Wolfpaw's expression. Her mouth hung open and her eyes widened. "_What_?" she yowled.

Foxsplash hissed as well. "Redstar, you must be talking nonsense. This is a rogue we're talking about."

Redstar's tail lashed. "I am aware of that, thank you Foxsplash."

Aurora was surprised and she felt herself relax. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Briarblossom stepped forward. "There are four Clans, RockClan, TreeClan, WaterClan and us, SunClan. We each have territories, and we each care for each other like family. And you, Aurora, have ventured into SunClan territory."

Redstar cut between Briarblossom and Aurora before she could continue. "And normally, cats who don't belong in our Clan, like other Clans or kittypets, loners and rogues, would be driven out." His eyes widened into a strange look. "But you, Aurora, are different. You are the kind of cat SunClan needs."

Did she like this? Aurora didn't know. She found herself thinking that this was a good idea. She wouldn't be alone anymore. "What's in it for me?" she asked.

"Family," Redstar replied. "You will become an apprentice and train with Wolfpaw."

Aurora felt herself bristle. She didn't want to train alongisde Wolfpaw, but she let the leader continue anyways.

"You will become a warrior and live in SunClan." Redstar cocked his head to the side. "How about that? Do you want to join?"

Aurora stood still. Thoughts whirled inside her head. She thought of family, thought of how much her father did to protect her and her mother from the wolves. She thought of how he had killed Aurora's mother, then fled. She thought of the last group of cats she joined ended up ditching her with a bleeding muzzle. Then, she thought of _him_ and how he had left her. But falling in love again wouldn't end up like that if you were forced to live together, right? SunClan sounded good. She liked the idea of living with family and never being alone, of being loved all the time.

With moments of hesitating, Aurora felt her mouth open and the words came out before she could stop them. "Yes, I want to join."


	3. Chapter 2: Stormpaw

It was just the beginning of morning, and the delicate rays of sunlight were splashing down from the sky, showing off its beautiful, radiant colour. Stormpaw felt it's warm touch and he longed to be back in the apprentices' den, sleeping.

"Stormpaw! Hurry it up!"

The large tom curled his lip and gave a low rumble. He wanted to still be back in the apprentices' den, sleeping like the other apprentices might be doing. But no! He had to be out on a patrol. He lowered his head and pushed back his annoyance. "Yes, Frostwing," he called back and bounded away.

"You're holding up the patrol," Frostwing hissed to her apprentice, who was already larger than she at only 10 moons old.

Stormpaw twitched his ear. _There's no one else on this patrol, mouse-brain. _"I'm sorry," he replied back, forgetting his thoughts. "I didn't mean to slow down." He hated being scolded at. He hated getting in trouble.

"Sorry? I waited for you to come up, and you just sat there, loping about like some sort of badger after eating to much."

Stormpaw winced and nodded. Frostwing wasn't his favourite cat of course. He glanced the way they had come from from the Camp. He wondered what Icepaw was doing. _Probably something better than going on a dumb patrol too early in the morning. _His sister had gotten the mentor every young cat would dream of. Puddleslpash. Easy with the kits and apprentices, laid-back and gentle. Stormpaw wasn't sure how much he had talked to Icepaw about wanting him as a mentor as kits-but _no_, he just _had_ to have Frostwing as a mentor. But that wasn't the last thing that had ruined Stormpaw's life. It was his mother's death. Stormpaw felt guilt sweep through him. It was his fault Echoflight was dead, and it was all because he didn't like the idea of going on some patrol, and little did he know, that it would be the last time he would see his mother, before the badger got to her. And he should have been there, he could have prevented her death.

It became worse after that. Stormpaw and Icepaw became instantly closer. Hailstar, Stormpaw's father, changed for a short time, sulking in his den at times, and finally, he came out of it, but you could see in his eyes he missed her. Stormpaw didn't know why, but he began to feel some sort of pressure to live up to his father's expectations. He felt he needed to do something after causing his mother's death, something that would make Hailstar feel better. So Stormpaw trained harder than he ever did before. He tried to become the best apprentice, by listening to his mentor (even though he hated her) and respecting everyone the hardest. And he still felt the pressure and guilt he had felt before.

"Stormpaw!" Frostwing's sharp voice cut through the tom's thoughts and Stormpaw jerked. "Stormpaw, don't go on daydreaming again or I swear to I'll ditch you in the middle of the forest."

Stormpaw felt his ears burning with embarrassment. "Sorry," he murmured. "I won't daydream again."

Frostwing's ears twitched, then, she curled her lip. "Oh yes, you can do it again." She leaned forward. "In the elders' den with moss and mouse bile stuck to your paws."

Stormpaw drew away. He didn't like Frostwing at all, and she didn't seem to help at all with his mother's death. She pushed him hard all the time, even made him do battle training the day his mother died. Frostwing was tough, strict and snappy, a cat nobody would like, and his own _father_ gave him this mentor.

"Okay," was all he could say to Frostwing.

Then, to his shock, she gave a sympathetic sigh. "You know what? I'm sorry Stormpaw. Why don't we just head back to camp right now?"

Stormpaw felt his heart lift and he looked up. "Really?"

Then, the look of sympathy faded from Frostwing's green eyes and her fur bristled. Fury and annoyance crossed her eyes and anyone would find it hard to believe she had just been a nice she-cat. "No, not really! Move it!"

Stormpaw shuffled forward, narrowing his eyes slightly at Frostwing when she looked away. He bounded away and heard Frostwing's hot breath behind him as she followed behind him. Stormpaw glanced over his shoulder. He was as big as a few warriors, and since he was as big as them, he was as fast as them, even though RockClan cats were not fast at all. Since he was a large cat and since Frostwing was a small cat, he easily outran her when she tried to take the lead. Frostwing growled as she drew back.

They stopped by the SunClan border and there was a stench in the air that made Stormpaw's nose wrinkle. He couldn't make out what it was, and he didn't dare ask Frostwing in fear that she'd snap at him.

He was grateful when Frostwing said, "A loner." She growled. "The scent's a day or two old by the smell of it." She curled her lip and gave a hiss. "_And_, it's been in our territory and crossed over into SunClan territory."

A loner! How dare some cat cross RockClan border? Anger pulsed through Stormpaw and he gave out a hiss. "Stupid cat," he muttered. "Might've stolen some prey."

Frostwing shook her head and turned to Stormpaw. She gave him a look that made Stormpaw feel like she was annoyed with him. "You don't know that," she snapped. "Smell the scent, Stormpaw. Do you smell any prey with it?"

Stormpaw was surprised at how warrior-like Frostwing acted. He expected an arrogant cat like Frostwing to agree with him. Stormpaw lifted his muzzle and tasted the air again. No prey.

"We better tell Hailstar about this."

Hailstar! Stormpaw felt his pelt prickle with unease. His leader, his (and every other young cat's) idol, and, worst of all, his _father_. He wondered if this would impress Hailstar somehow.

"C'mon, badger, let's move it."

Stormapw followed after his mentor, somewhat grateful for being able to go back to camp. "Can we go hunting before we get back?" he asked.

Frostwing gave some sort of snort, then blinked her green eyes slowly and drowsily. "Why do I care?"

Stormpaw slowed his pace and let Frostwing pass him. As she did so, he sidestepped and turned. He watched as Frostwing's silver fur disappeared and then he began to make his way deeper into the forest, farther away from the rocky area his Clan lived in.

He stopped between the borders of SunClan and TreeClan. Stormpaw caught the scent of a badger as he halted. It was old, almost completely fading and it had just crossed over SunClan, TreeClan and RockClan's border. Stormpaw let out a soft sigh of relief. It was just passing by.

Suddenly, memories flooded back and he felt anxiety bubble up inside of him again. He thought back to the day his mother had died. He remembered Frostwing falling into a thorn patch from a tree while chasing a squirrel, and the accident had made Stormpaw free for the day. It was a nice day, and he had been sunning himself on the rock when his mother had come up to him and asked, "Wanna go hunting?" Stormpaw was lazy then, and he wished he hadn't said no. But he did, and that simple word changed everything.

Two warriors came back into camp later that day, carrying the one cat that meant everything to Stormpaw.

His mother, Echoflight.

Stormpaw wasn't sure how long he had been in depression, mourning for her and falling behind then the other apprentices in training. He remembered how Icepaw was the only other cat that had brought him back to life. They became exceptionally close. It was great to have Icepaw as a best friend, but Stormpaw was jealous at her life. She was carefree, peaceful, popular and independent. She didn't try as hard as Stormpaw and didn't feel the hardship of overcoming his mother's death.

Stormpaw found himself again, back in reality. He turned and placed his foot on something. There was a cracking sound and a squirrel scurried out of it's place by a tree close to Stormpaw.

"Scaring all the prey away, huh?"

Stormpaw whipped around, claws unsheathing naturally. As he did so, the cat pounced at him, knocking him off his paws. "Icepaw!" Stormpaw yowled and flung his smaller sister off. He gave out a laugh and followed after her. He slammed into her and rubbed his muzzle affectionately against her flank. "Don't sneak up on me like that, alright? Scared the fur off of me!"

Icepaw gave out an uncontrollable laugh. She purred and shoved Stormpaw playfully. "Couldn't resist, seeing you all still and dazed like that!" She giggled. Then, the laugh suddenly stopped and she tilted her head to the side, casting Stormpaw a quizzical look with her bright green eyes. "What were you doing?"

Stormpaw twiched his ears. "Thinking." His eyes darkened.

It seemed as if Icepaw could read Stormpaw's mind and she dropped her head. "Oh," she said. "I see."

An akward silence hung between them, until a voice called, "Chatting like the elders, are we?"

Stormpaw and Icepaw turned. Puddlesplash stood behind them, an amused look sprawled across his face.

"Yes," Icepaw mewed back, eyes brightening and gleaming. "Having a real nice chat."

Puddlesplash purred. "Well, I guess I should send an apprentice to fetch you some prey."

Stormpaw laid his ears back, slightly stung at the closeness his sister and Puddleslpash shared. He found it odd that Icepaw was so open with Puddlesplash, while Stormpaw and Frostwing just kept to themselves and hated each other.

"That'd be great!" Icepaw joked back, tearing Stormpaw away from his thoughts.

Puddlesplash gave out a _mrrow _of amusement. "Well, I guess that apprentice should come hunting with her mentor right now. A certain _white furred _apprentices with green eyes."

Icepaw touched her nose gently to Stormpaw's and padded away.

Stormpaw gave out a soft huff of envy. His sister had everything. The mentor, the happiness, the looks, the popularity, the _life_ itself.

"And Stormpaw," Puddlesplash suddenly said, as if he had just noticed he was there.

Stormpaw looked up.

"Does Frostwing know you're out here? You're pretty close to the border."

Stormpaw didn't want to meet Puddlesplash's gaze. "Yes."

"Okay, make sure you don't cross the border though and, I know it's still morning but cats sometimes hunt till really late, so be back before the sun sets." Was that concern in his voice?

Stormpaw twiched his ears and they burned with embarrassment as he heard Puddlesplash and Icepaw slither away through the undergrowth, chatting about something. Stormpaw gave out a huff of anger. Why couldn't Frostwing be like that? Stormpaw stood up and stalked away. He continued to ponder himself with questions. What would it be like if Puddlesplash was his mentor? Then, something caught his eye. A blob of ginger stood far from him and Stormpaw turned.

It was another apprentice, Dragonpaw.

And he was on SunClan territory, surronded by SunClan warriors.


	4. Chapter 3: Wolfpaw

"Here's your rabbit," Wolfpaw murmured, unsheathing her claws and hooking it into the rabbit, then flinging it towards Aurora.

She had been here for two days now, staying in SunClan camp. The cats reacted negatively to her, spitting at her at times and mocking her. But it felt good being with other cats. They rebuked her but she somewhat enjoyed it, enjoyed being the center of attention for once. She had been kept at the back of the Camp because the Clan didn't quite agree on her becoming one of them, so Redstar decided to give it some time.

Wolfpaw stood in front of her. "And in case you're wondering why _I'm_ giving you a rabbit, don't think of it as something friendly 'cause it isn't. Briarblossom's making me."

Aurora curled her lip at her. "Thanks," she said sarcastically as she took the rabbit. She sank her jaws into it greedily, letting it's juices flow down her throat. It tasted _good_.

"Huh! Greedy loner! I hope you know that that was the last rabbit, and none of the apprentices and the warriors have eaten yet," Wolfpaw retorted, her tail lashing angrily.

Aurora whipped around to Wolfpaw. "I hope you know when to shut your mouth!"

Wolfpaw leaned forward and her lip curled angrily. "You wanna go there?"

Aurora hissed, spraying saliva and rabbit meat all over Wolfpaw's face. She felt amusement bubble up inside her when Wolfpaw jerked back. "Ack!" she cried, losing her footing and slipping onto the ground. Snow sprayed around and covered Wolfpaw's silver pelt. "You fox-dunged, mouse-brain!' She launched herself at Aurora.

But Aurora, having experience with cats far more vicious than this, sidestepped easily, causing Wolfpaw to trip over a chunk of ice and wipe out. She couldn't help but laugh with amusement. "Ha! You went there, alright!"

Wolfpaw whipped around. "I _hate_ you! I can't believe I have to train alongside you when Redstar makes you part of SunClan! I can't even _believe_ Redstar decided to let you stay! Where'd you get you're mouse-brain from, huh? 'Cause it's definitely the size of a mouse's brain! You piece of ugly fox-dung!"

Aurora bristled. Mouse-brain? She was no mouse-brain. Wolfpaw had no idea who she was trying to take on. "Ugly fox-dung? Mouse-brain? Look who's talking, stuck-up arrogant fox."

Wolfpaw simple ignored her, stiffening and leaning forward. "I bet your family's as mouse-brained as you, considering you're one of them rogues. Rogue! Rogue, rogue, ro-ogue!"

Aurora felt her muscles stiffen. Her family? How dare Wolfpaw insult her! Wolves had shredded her father, caused him to kill her mother, and then he had left them. How dare she make a joke out of it? Aurora hated all wolves, this wolf in particular got on her nerves. She launched herself at Wolfpaw. The silver she-cat yowled and fell to the ground in surprise. Aurora didn't bother keeping her claws sheathed. She swung at Wolfpaw, scoring hits at her and causing blood to stain the white snow surronding them. "You mouse-brain! My family are not idiots!"

Wolfpaw let out a cry of pain. "Stop it! Stop it, rogue! Stop it you piece of fox-dung!"

Aurora ignored her, sinking her teeth into Wolfpaw's muzzle and yanking, tearing the soft skin of Wolfpaw's cheek. The she-cat gave out a wail and her amber eyes flashed with pain. "I'm serious, Aurora! Stop it! It hurts!"

It hurts? _What a wimp! _Aurora spat out the piece of skin from Wolfpaw's cheek and laughed. "Of course it hurts! Suck it up, wolfy! You think you're all tough and stuff and just one little rip on your cheek sends you wailing and begging for mercy! Well, StarClan have pity on you!" Before she could do anymore, something pulled roughly at her and yanked her off of Wolfpaw. She stumbled for a moment, trying to break free of the other cats' grip. "What-? Stop! Leave me alone!"

The other cat's tight grip released but the cat stepped forward, blocking Aurora from reaching Wolfpaw again. It was the medicine cat, Redfeather and her apprentice Brightpaw who were tugging at her. "Stop it, Aurora," Redfeather said softly with some firmness in her voice. "You've hurt Wolfpaw."

Aurora lashed her tail as she watched Wolfpaw stumble to her feet. Her face was splattered with blood and her muzzle and face were covered in gashes. She turned to Aurora and growled. "Fox-dung! You piece of _fox-dung! _Your whole family is piece of fox-dung!"

Aurora stiffened. "Shut up, Wolfpaw! You don't knoww _anything!_"

"I know that rogues like you will never be accepted and will never match up with real warrior cats. You're a _monster_, Aurora. Nobody likes you, Aurora, nobody ever will."

Aurora didn't reply. She felt her stomach churn with something that made her heart sink. She wasn't always a monster, she wasn't always hated. She had found love once, when she was just around seven or eight moons old, she fell for a tom. A young tom who loved her back. She was once loved, never cruel. But she changed when everything else shattered.

"That's right! Be all sulky like you always will!" Then, Wolfpaw scrunched her face up. "Suck it up, Aurora," she mimicked Aurora from earlier. "You think you're all tough and just one little insult sends you all sad." She laughed. "Ha! And _I'm_ the wimp! You just cower when I say something! Wimp! Rogue! Mouse-brain!"

"Stop it, Wolfpaw," Briarblossom said.

"But-"

"Can't you see you've hurt her enough?" Briarblosso mumured.

"_I _hurt her? _I _hurt her? You're crazy! Look what she did to me!"

Aurora twitched her ears. She wanted so badly to shred Wolfpaw again, but her pain caused her not to. She felt her paws tingle and she lifted them up. Blood stained her paws, _Wolfpaw's_ blood. Why did she feel so guilty about it? Wolfpaw hurt her, and she had hurt her back. The monster in her was coming out, but it returned when Wolfpaw began to mock her again.

"Ha! Look at your _face_, all sad and sulky! Keep cryin' rogue, keep cryin'!"

Cats had gathered around Wolfpaw and Aurora, watching as Wolfpaw continued to mock Aurora. Briarblossom seemed to have given up in calming Wolfpaw down and stepped back alone with the crowd of cats. They began to murmur somethings.

"Look at Wolfpaw!'

"That rogue really went far this time."

"I'm not letting her near my kits!"

"Same! Never will I let her touch my kits when they arrive!"

"I can't believe Redstar let her stay here..."

Aurora couldn't stand it. She jerked, raising her head angrily and springing to her feet. She felt Redfeather tense in front of her and another cat she recognized as Whitethorn stepped up. He spoke a few words with Redfeather, then took his place in front of Aurora.

"Stop," Whitethorn growled. "You are a burden to this Clan, and everyone thinks Redstar is crazy for letting you stay here. You eat our food, shelter with us and do nothing in return. Instead you attack one of our apprentices. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Aurora bristled. "You don't understand," she growled. "She isn't just some apprentice, she's a complete-"

"Silence!" Whitethorn hissed. "Redstar and Coldstare will be back from their patrols soon. You will go to whoever comes back first."

Aurora wanted to shred the warrior as she did to Wolfpaw. But Whitethorn was larger and more experianced, so she simply nodded and turned away. She settled back into the moss nest, spitting out blood bitterly from her mouth as she watched Redfeather and Brightpaw lead Wolfpaw away. Cats stared at Aurora for a moment, and she glared back at them, as if telling them to leave her alone.

When the did, Aurora curled up. She began to wonder if what Wolfpaw said was true. Would somebody ever accept her the way she was?


	5. Chapter 4: Trouble

Stormpaw's first reaction was to yell Dragonpaw's name. At first, it didn't surprise him much that Dragonpaw had somehow found a way to sneak away from camp and into SunClan's territory, since Dragonpaw was the one who was always getting punished for the trouble he caused.

Dragonpaw didn't seem to listen or he didn't hear. Stormpaw found himself running. He bounded across the border, his paws slamming into the snowy ground and causing snow to splash everywhere. "Hey!" he yelled.

A white tom's head snapped towards him and Stormpaw recognized him as Coldstare, SunClan's deputy. He curled his lip. "Idiot RockClan cats! Can't seem to stay in your own territory, can you?" He turned to a smaller tom (who Stormpaw thought was Ashpaw) and nodded. Ashpaw nodded back and began to run towards Stormpaw.

Stormpaw felt the feel of battle rise inside of him and his claws instantly unsheathed. He hissed and leapt a split second before Ashpaw did. He managed to hook his claw into Ashpaw's ear, tearing it.

Suddenly, another cat barrelled into Stormpaw. "Don't you dare hurt my apprentice!" came a harsh, adult she-cat's voice.

Stormpaw felt his breath escape his body and he lay there, winded for a moment. Pain exploded in his shoulder as he felt sharp teeth tear it. There was a cry, Dragonpaw's cry, to stop. The she-cat was on top of him now, crushing him. Stormpaw felt panic grip his stomach and he let out a cry. His lungs screamed for air but no air came to him. He let himself go limp, hoping it would cause them to step off. He was right.

"StarClan! What is wrong with you cats?" Dragonpaw was yelling. "You just attack him because-"

"-he crossed our border," Coldstare hissed.

Stormpaw let his mouth drop open. The snow made his body shiver but he didn't care. He took greedy gulps of air and stumbled to his feet. Something grabbed nudged his shoulder harshly and whispered, "Get a move on."

Stormpaw lifted his head and quickened his pace to catch up to Dragonpaw. He felt fear stir inside him. He hated getting in trouble, but here he was, getting led into SunClan camp.

SunClan's camp was a large clearing, only a few trees surrounded them and there were large holes in the ground-dens, Stormpaw guessed. He curled his lip as he watched the cats around him share tongues, oblivious to the two RockClan cats being led to the camp. _How do they live in this area? _Stormpaw thought with disgust. RockClan camp was much safer. It was surrounded by rocks and trees and the dens were made in cracks in the boulders. He found it hard to imagine anyone living in this open clearing.

"Aurora," Coldstare suddenly said, breaking Stormpaw from his thoughts. Who was Aurora? Stormpaw's eyes rested on a pretty light ginger, gold, yellow and white she-cat dark green eyes. A neat scar ran along her muzzle and Stormpaw shivered. He noted the name Coldstare had said-Aurora. Had SunClan taken in a rogue or a kittypet?

The she-cat ducked her head and a scowl crossed her face. Her lip curled angrily, showing her sharp glistening teeth. The smell of blood clung to her and Stormpaw felt himself beginning to tremble. "Whitethorn told me to go to you or Redstar when you returned," she murmured.

Coldstare hissed. "I'll speak with you later." He flicked his tail to Ashpaw and Haretail. "Leave."

Stormpaw turned his gaze to Aurora and felt something tingle inside him. He shook himself as Aurora's piercing green eyes rested on him. They narrowed into a glower and Stormpaw stepped back.

"Whoa," Dragonpaw breathed into his ear and flicked his own ear. "Whoa."

Stormpaw twisted his head to look at Dragonpaw. "_What?_" he hissed.

Dragonpaw flashed an innocent look at Stormpaw. "The rogue, mouse-brain!"

Stormpaw curled his lip in disgust. The she-cat's looks were attractive, but Dragonpaw was love-struck. "Uh-huh."

Coldstare whipped around. He hissed. "You two go and join Aurora. We keep our prisoners there."

Stormpaw could make out the figure of Aurora in a small pile of moss from the other cats. The she-cat was playing with some sort of dead animal with her paws. He felt Dragonpaw brush past him s he walked over. He watched from a distance, amused when he saw Aurora raise a paw and struck Dragonpaw. The ginger apprentice instantly whipped around and bounded back, confusion and fear crossing his eyes. Stormpaw gave a snicker of amusement.

"StarClan, she's harsh!" Dragonpaw exclaimed, his fur bristling. Then, his face scrunched up. "And she was playing with a _rabbit_. Like, _what_?"

Stormpaw felt happiness and humour bubble up inside him. He laughed. "Ha!"

Dragonpaw's lips curled back in a cat-like grin and his ears twitched. "Oh yeah?" he said. "Why don't you try talking to her?" he asked.

Stormpaw twitched his own ears. "Oh yeah, sure," he replied sarcastically, his tail lashing. But Dragonpaw's expression faded into a serious look and Stormpaw narrowed his eyes. "No thanks."

Dragonpaw stood up and grabbed Stormpaw's neck scruff like a kit.

"No, no, stop it Dragonpaw," Stormpaw growled, pulling back. This was why he wasn't a close friend to Dragonpaw. The cat was a trouble-maker.

"C'mon, Stormpaw, you'll love her!" Dragonpaw teased as he began to nudge Stormpaw. "I talked to her, didn't I?"

Stormpaw sat down, making it harder for Dragonpaw to push him towards Aurora. "Yeah, and you got hit," he said with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"So?"

"I don't want to get swatted at."

"Oh come _on _just a little swat!"

"No, I'm serious-"

"I went, so you go."

"Seriously, Dragonpaw, stop!"

"I think Stormpaw being a coward…"

"It's not funny-"

"Aw, c'mon."

"No-"

"Let's go!" 

"I really don't-"

"I actually think Stormpaw's being a coward!" Dragonpaw mewed, his whiskers twitching.

Stormpaw curled his lip. He was surprised that no SunClan cat seemed to notice how much noise they were making. They didn't seem to notice them at all. Maybe it was because they were at the back of the camp-wait, back? Wasn't that where-?

"There she is!" Dragonpaw was saying, his eyes widening mischievously. He pulled himself back into a sitting position and a laid back look entered his eyes. He turned his gaze to Stormpaw without turning his head. "What're you waiting for?"

Stormpaw tried to turn. "You know, I really don't want-" But before he could finish his sentence, Dragonpaw had shoved him. His front paws slid underneath him and crashed forward, slamming into something.

Slamming into something soft and furry.

Slamming into Aurora

**A/N: So yeah…This chapter was kind of fun and boring at the same time. But guess what? Stormpaw and Aurora finally meet!-in a weird way. This chapter was mostly just talking and Stormpaw and Dragonpaw just fooling around. **

**Dragonpaw's kind of flirty, isn't he? Lol, I love him. Thanks Lionfire99 for creating him!**


	6. Chapter 5: Juniperpaw

**A/N: Sorry for the slow update. I was having writers' block. *Frowns* It was hard to slowly drag Aurora from a fight to a Apprentice ceremony. So...here ya go. :)**

Aurora whipped around, her pelt burning with anger. Her claws instantly unsheathed and she blindly flung them at the cat. _Stupid cat! I was just trying to enjoy what little peace I had and _he_ comes along!_The she-cat felt her claws dig into flesh. She heard a yip of shock and pain. Suddenly, strong paws pressed against her shoulders and she slipped forward sliding onto her back and slamming into the moss nest. The cat had flipped her over and was now looming over her. She curled her lip as she examinded hiim. The tom was a pure black cat. A strang scent clung to him, not of SunClan. He was large but his deep green eyes showed youngness and his whiskers began to twitch. Aurora hissed at him. "Get _off of me!_" She pressed her paws against the tom's chest and stomach. She pushed him and he flew off, landing on the ground neatly on four paws.

Aurora felt someone stand behind her. She whipped around and felt the cat's teeth grasp her neck fur. Aurora pulled free and turned to the unknown cat. "What?" she asked hotly.

Redstar stood, eyes narrowed at Aurora. "Second fight today, right?"

Aurora looked away. She was scared now, scared she would not be able to stay here, scared she'd be forced to live alone again, scared of never being with other cats again. "Yes," she replied, somewhat shyly. "I'm sorry."

She felt Redstar relax and she heard a sigh. "That's alright," he murmured, sounding wary. "But keep in mind, if you want to be part of SunClan, you can't be doing this all the time."

Aurora shifted her paws a bit and turned her gaze to them. "I know," she mumbled. She risked to lift her gaze and meet his. "One more chance?"

Redstar just started back, his tail lashing. "One more chance," he replied evenly. "Just one last chance and you will be kicked out before being part of SunClan."

"Alright," Aurora said.

Suddenly, Redstar stood up and stalked past her. She twisted her head around and saw the tom and his ginger friend.

"Coldstare told me about you two," Redstar was saying. He turned to the black tom. "Are you alright?"

The tom's gaze flickered towards Aurora for a moment and his green eyes seemed to examine her, then, he turned back. "Yes," he replied. "A little sore in some spots, but alright."

"I understand it was wrong for Coldstare to bring you into camp. Crossing one or two fox-lengths over the border doesn't exactly require camp-confining. Maybe a little nip here and there and a cold warning to send you running. I'm sorry."

Aurora settled down into the ground as she examinded their conversation. She liked Redstar. He was kind, a bit wary at times, but a reasonable leader.

"You're from RockClan, right?"

RockClan? Wasn't that the Clan Wolfpaw was talking about fighting? If they were fighting, why was Redstar being so kind to the RockClan apprentices?

"Yes," the ginger apprentice replied.

"What are your names?"

The ginger apprentice's head lifted slightly and his eyes brightened. "Dragonpaw," he said proudly.

The black tom was less enthusiastic. His gaze was steady, but his tail lashed uncomfortablly. He narrowed his eyes at Redstar, who was almost the same size as the black tom himself. "Stormpaw," the black tom said hesitantely.

Redstar's amber eyes blinked. "Hailstar and Echoflight's son."

Aurora noticed something flickering in the tom's eyes as Redstar mentioned the two cats' names. She suddenly felt some connection between them. Guilt and hurt clouded Stormpaw's gaze and the young tom looked away. "Y-yes," he replied quietly. "Before Echoflight died."

The tom looked like he was on the verge of cracking and breaking down. His eyes seemed distant and his ears laid back against his head. His tail stopped lashing and he hunched his shoulders.

Redstar seemed to notice the hurt Stormpaw felt and he laid his tail on the apprentices' shoulder. "I'll get some cats to escort you back to the border."

Aurora watched as Redstar stalked away. He spoke with a few cats, then gestured to Stormpaw and Dragonpaw to come to him.

Aurora watched as Stormpaw, Dragonpaw and the cats Redstar had spoken to bounded away, disappearing from view.

Something brushed against Aurora and she looked up. Redstar stood beside her. "Come with me," he said. Aurora padded after him. The tom leapt up onto a pile of sand and then gestured for Aurora to come up to. Uneasily, she sprung up beside him.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here below the Sandpile!" Redstar yowled.

Aurora was puzzled, but she settled down anyways on the sand and tried to make herself comfortable. She watched as cats began to gather below the Sandpile. There were yowls of "Rogue!" and "Monster!" among the cats and Aurora felt stung. These cats hated her.

"Silence!" Redstar yelled and instantly, there was no sound. "I understand cats have disagreed to this, but I have decided to let Aurora join our Clan."

"What?"

"That _rogue_-the monster?"

"Why us?"

"She'll eventually turn us inside out like she did to Wolfpaw!"

"Don't let her join!"

Aurora felt her claw's unsheathe and some sand slithered off of the pile as her claws sank into them. She clenched her jaw to prevent herself from doing any harm to the cats and she hung back, forcing herself to stay calm.

"_I _am the leader and _I _will choose what happens in this Clan!" Redstar yelled angrily. "Now silence!"

Aurora felt slightly guilty. Redstar seemed to be a calm cat, but now he was furious and yelling at his Clan. She laid her ears back and calmed herself, letting her claws sheath back into place.

"Now, I understand she hasn't been completely accepted, but today, Aurora becomes part of SunClan."

There were murmurs of spite at this.

"She is of age to become an apprentice of SunClan." Redstar turned his head to Aurora, and she puffed out her chest and raised her head high. "Aurora, from this moment onward, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Juniperpaw. May StarClan guide you on your way to acceptance and becoming a Warrior of SunClan."

Juniperpaw felt happy. She felt _good_, a feeling she rarely held inside of her. Juniper. She felt a bubbly feeling rise inside her. Junipers, beautiful, colourful berries that hung from stunning and leafy trees. Juniper. She liked that.

Juniperpaw turned her gaze to the crowd, hardly noticing now the hatred they all carried. Which one would be her mentor? Which one actually _wanted _to be her mentor?

"Talonstrike."

Juniperpaw whipped her head around. Talonstrike. She didn't know who he was, and had never saw him. She grimaced to herself, scared he would be like the other cats that despised her. She watched as a red-brown tom stepped out of the crowd of cats. His leafy green eyes had a somewhat soft look in them and they were bright. He loped up to the Sandpile, shoulders sagging in a laid-back fasion and ears twitching with a somewhat humorous expression. He padded up. "Yeees, m'leader?" he asked jokingly.

Redstar's whiskers twitched with amusement and the rest of SunClan gave out short chuckles. Juniperpaw felt the happiness increase inside her. Talonstrike seemed kind enough-actually, more than enough.

Juniperpaw quickly ran her tongue over her chest. She was shaking from excitement, despite the fact of the Clan hating her.

"You are ready for an apprentice," Redstar said. "You are a well-loved warrior of SunClan, humorous and extremely loyal. Your kindness and jokes will surely uplight cats of all types. You will be the mentor of Juniperpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her.

Talonstrike turned to Juniperpaw, and she felt her ears beginning to burn. Her mentor stared at her, green gaze examining her with soft eyes. His whiskers twitched and he leaned forward, his face showing kindness and welcoming. He wasn't one of those cats who despised Juniperpaw, and she liked it.

His nose touched Juniperpaw's nose gently and he drew back. "Apprentice of my own now, eh?" he said teasily, flicking his ear. "Time to do some beatin'," he added and a purr of amusement followed.

The Clan laughed. Juniperpaw laughed. She liked Talonstrike a lot. And for that moment, she felt accepted. She felt like she was one of them, laughing with them as Talonstrike grinned and told jokes.

And she felt like she had somehow found a home.


	7. Chapter 6: Father & Son

Stormpaw was first greeted by Frostwing.

His mentor stepped out of the warriors' den to see the sight that made here green eyes blaze with anger and her silver coat prickled at the sight of her apprentice between two SunClan cats.

Stormpaw pressed against Dragonpaw, who had his head lifted high. No fear scent clung to him. Dragonpaw was used to this kind of stuff, getting in trouble, but Stormpaw was not.

"Idiot!" Frostwing hissed, raising her paw and cuffing Stormpaw's ear roughly. "You went into SunClan territory? Stupid apprentice!"

Stormpaw drew back from Frostwing's angered face. He felt shame and embarrassment wash over him.

"It's against the Warrior Code, yet you still went over the border! Do you know how-"

"That's enough Frostwing." Hailstar stepped from behind Frostwing, his amber eyes stern with leadership as he cast them at Frostwing. "I will speak to Stormpaw from here. You may leave."

Frostwing froze and her eyes widened at the sight of Hailstar, and Stormpaw felt like laughing at his mentor's reaction if his father was not there watching him. Frostwing dipped her head, coming out of the trance. "Yes Hailstar," she murmured. She turned her frosty blue eyes to Stormpaw and they narrowed, and then she padded away.

Stormpaw felt the amusement ebb away as Hailstar turned back to him. He lowered his head and tried to make himself smaller. He was dimly aware of Dragonpaw shuddering beside him as Hailstar flicked his tail at the ginger apprentice. "I will speak with you later," he said sternly and Dragonpaw quickly scrambled away.

And now it as just Stormpaw and his father, who was probably angry at him. It was exactly what Stormpaw had feared ever since his mother died. "I'm sorry," was all he could manage when Hailstar led him into the leaders' den. He tried not to meet Hailstar's gaze and just examined his paws instead.

"For crossing SunClan's border?" Hailstar asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

Stormpaw's pelt burned with shame and he felt his ears lower against his head. "Yeah," he replied. "I'm really sorry, Hailstar. I couldn't help it when I saw Dragonpaw. He was surrounded, and I felt that I needed to help him. I couldn't leave him with the SunClan cats! I was scared..." He was scared. That was probably some sort of joke to Hailstar's ears, being the large, battle-scarred, mighty leader he was. Then, it suddenly occurred to him that this was the first conversation he and his father ever shared and Hailstar would remember it as his son saying that he "was scared".

There was a sigh from Hailstar, and the next words surprised Stormpaw. "Are you alright?"

Stormpaw was suddenly aware of the throbbing pain in his shoulder where Ashpaw's mentor had tore open and the scratch that the loner Aurora had given him. Stormpaw simply flicked his ear, hoping he didn't show any weakness in front of Hailstar. "Yeah," he replied. "I'm alright."

Hailstar grunted. "Good."

Stormpaw curled his tail around his paws and gulped. "Will"-he cleared his throat-"will I be punished?"

Hailstar's gaze was steady as he stared at the apprentice. His eyes narrowed. "No," he said. "You were only thinking of a Clanmate."

Stormpaw let out a sigh of relief, and felt embarrassment rush over him as he heard Hailstar's purr of amusement at Stormpaw's reaction. "Thank you," Stormpaw replied, trying to keep his mind off the subject. He turned and began to pad out of the den. He suddenly thought of how kind Hailstar had treated him, how he was wrong about thinking of his father differently. Hailstar was not that kind of cat. He was different, like Stormpaw himself in a way. Echoflight's death had effected both of them, and it had changed Stormpaw. He wasn't sure if it changed Hailstar in a way, but it definitely hurt him. Stormpaw felt a sudden cold chill sweep through him as he remembered it was _his _fault his mother was gone, _his _fault he couldn't live a content life like his sister and the other apprentices did. _His _fault his family lost someone they loved.

Stormpaw shuddered, stopping abruptly at the entrance of the den as he waited for the horrible, sinking feeling to pass. His stomach felt cold and his head swirled. Hailstar reminded him too much of his mother, and he couldn't stop the guilt from taking over him, consuming him and dragging him down. He sunk onto the cold floor of the leaders' den.

"Stormpaw?" he heard Hailstar say uneasily from the back of the den. A cold nose touched his head and Stormpaw drew away. He blinked, and realized it was Hailstar.

"I'm sorry," Stormpaw murmured, embarrassed. "I'm so sorry. It's just..." He trailed off.

Hailstar blinked, and suddenly, his amber eyes were filled with hurt and understanding. "It's been hard for you, I understand. Echoflight hurt me too. It's hurt all of us."

Stormpaw thought of Icepaw, and how she wasn't shattered like he was. He was suddenly angry at her for not caring, angry that she didn't suffer like he and Hailstar were.

"Echoflight meant a lot to you. I'm sorry I never realized it," Hailstar was saying, "and I understand Frostwing isn't treating you well. I recently realized it as well."

Stormpaw closed his eyes and rested his head on his paws. He didn't care that he was doing this in front of the leader anymore. At the moment, Hailstar was not the leader. Hailstar was his _father_ right now. He listened for Hailstar's voice.

"But Frostwing is a good mentor. She's rough, but diciplines well. I'm sorry. I can't possibly imagine what pain you're going through. I go through pain too, but it's different."

"I'm sorry," Stormpaw murmured. "I'm sorry to remind of all this...horror." And he truly was. He had never saw a leader break down like this, especially Hailstar. "It's just...I feel it's _my _fault she died." The words were spilling out now, before Stormpaw could stop it. "If only I decided to go on that patrol with her. There would have still been a chance she would survive, a chance she could be with us mortally now, and not exist as a reminder of pain. It's my fault, Hailstar, _my fault._" Stormpaw's voice with cracking with deep sorrow and his claws unsheath, digging into the soft-hard ground.

"No," Hailstar said softly. "It's not your fault. It's not your fault at all. You were still 6 moons then, close to 7. And even if you did go with her, what could you possibly do?" He waited, as if for Stormpaw's reply. "Nothing," he finished firmly. "Nothing."

With a pang, Stormpaw realized Hailstar was right. But the shuddering feeling still lingered inside him. He didn't say anything.

Hailstar sighed. "Why don't you go get yourself a nice big piece of fresh-kill and then some rest?"

_Like rest will change me being forced to patrol before dawn. _Stormpaw looked away.

Hailstar seemed to notice Stormpaw's reaction and gave a short chuckle. "I'll tell Frostwing to go easy tomorrow."

Stormpaw stood up and raised his head. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Thank you."

"And get Dragonpaw for me."

Stormpaw simply nodded and made his way to the apprentices' den. He quickly told Dragonpaw to see the leader, and settled down in his nest.

Icepaw was at the back of the den, sharing a mouse with Nightpaw. Icepaw eyes darted towards Stormpaw and they brightened. "Hey!" she called and stood up.

Stormpaw, inside, wasn't in the mood for talking with his bubbly sister, but he allowed her to come to him anyways.

"Hi!" she piped, her green eyes sparkling. "Heard you got in some trouble with SunClan."

_I want to sleep. _Stormpaw grunted in a reply. StarClan-he was _tired_. He was kept in Camp with Dragonpaw for most of the day, spoke with Hailstar, and now the sun was almost setting. Couldn't his sister give him some peace?

"Well," his sister rambled, "something like that would usually get you a pretty bad punishment." Her white head cocked to one side. "What'd he make you do?"

"Nothing," Stormpaw murmured, turning over so his back was facing Icepaw.

He could almost _smell _his sister's surprise at his answer. "Oh," she said, shock in her voice. "Really? I bet you Dragonpaw's got some pretty bad punishment." She gave a small giggle. "StarClan, that cat _really _asks for trouble."

"Ha! Yeah."

Stormpaw groaned again. Was that Nightpaw's voice? Nightpaw was basically another Icepaw-only worse. He wanted to be left alone right now.

"Like, remember that one time..."

_No, and I don't think I really care. _Stormpaw let his eyes shut and he tried to block out Nightpaw and Icepaw's chattering. The first thing that came to mind was Echoflight...

**A/N: Gah, this chapter was really bad. It's short and just simply...bad. I was really not in a writing mood. I basically rushed through the end. **

**Ha, poor Stormpaw. He sounds really pissed at his sister and Nightpaw, doesn't he? Well, that's what a cat gets when he has a bubbly sister, an annoying friend, and decides to cross another Clan's border. :)**


	8. Chapter 7: Introductions

**A/N: Yay! I got it up! Thank you GlimmerIcewood for the idea! ^^ Anyways, this is that Chapter all my readers (which are not much... :( ...) are waiting for! The chapter where Juniperpaw and Stormpaw meet! The ending's a really fun part actually, Juniperpaw really lets her real self open up to Stormpaw... :) It was challenging to write because of Juniperpaw's personality.**

**I think I'm talking too much. I'm gonna shut up now and let the chapter do the talking. :) **

**WAIT! Another thing is I'm going to be without Internet until around August so this and MAYBE the next chapter will be the last in a long time.**

* * *

><p>Juniperpaw sidestepped just before Talonstrike could get to her. She felt the <em>whoosh <em>of wind as her mentor stumbled, whipping around. His green eyes lit up and his whiskers twitched. "Good job!" he praised, still huffing. "You're a natural fighter!"

Juniperpaw grunted, irritated. She looked away. Natural fighter? Doesn't fighting _come _naturally if you've been doing it ever since you could walk? StarClan, these cats were messed up.

Talonstrike gave out a _mrrow _of laughter and whisked his tail over Juniperpaw's ear. She jerked away.

It had been a couple of days since Juniperpaw had become part of SunClan. Cats still looked at her like she was a "monster" and Wolfpaw treated her horribly. The only true cats that were ever nice to her were Redstar and Talonstrike (who annoyed Juniperpaw greatly).

Talonstrike looked slightly hurt, but he covered it up quickly. "You've been doing very well Juniperpaw, very good for your age. You fight like a grown cat and hunt like one too." He purred.

Juniperpaw just nodded. She was pleased at the compliment, but made sure she hid it well.

She heard Talonstrike give a sigh. "Alright. Let's continue training."

They trained for the rest of Sunhigh, and by the time they got back to Camp, both cats were panting heavily from the training.

"Get something to eat," Talonstrike huffed. "You've done well today."

Juniperpaw nodded, rising to her feet. As she began to make her way to the fresh-kill pile, something slammed into her side and she crashed into the ground. Before she could get up, a paw pressed against her shoulder and rolled her onto her back.

"Hello rogue," Wolfpaw hissed. "What are you trying to get?"

Juniperpaw wanted badly to shred the she-cat, but she didn't want to risk getting kicked out of SunClan. Instead, she curled her lip and stayed in place. "Fresh-kill," she replied.

"Why are you doin' that, rogue?" Wolfpaw asked, saliva dripping from her mouth and onto Juniperpaw's face.

Juniperpaw felt her eyes shut close as the sticky stuff plopped onto her face. She managed to squint back at Wolfpaw. "My mentor said-"

"Ooh, Juniperpaw's being a _goody _cat, isn't she now?" Wolfpaw taunted. "So she didn't want to be a nice kitty _before _she shredded me?"

_What? Who'd want to be nice to you? _But Juniperpaw forced the harsh words back and gulped. "Let me up, Wolfpaw."

Wolfpaw just laughed. "You see this nasty scar right here?" She tilted her head to the side as she leaned, exposing a bloody, fresh scar on her muzzle. "You see it?"

Juniperpaw didn't flinch as Wolfpaw swung it in front of her. "Yeah," she replied firmly. "I see your ugly scar." The ugly scar she made.

Wolfpaw curled her lip. "And you know why it's there?"

"Yep."

"So you know why I'm angry?"

"Uh-huh."

Wolfpaw gave a mocking laugh. "You think you're so good, aren't you? I've seen how Redstar watches you, how him and your stupid mentor favor you." She leaned closer until her hot breath was causing Juniperpaw's muzzle to get warm. "Well you know what rogue? You're not good at all. _I'm _better."

"Good for you," Juniperpaw answered crossly. "Now get off."

Wolfpaw gave one last hiss, spraying spit once more all over Juniperpaw, then stepped off of her and walked away.

Juniperpaw shook her fur. "Stupid she-cat," she murmured under her breath. She glanced through the fresh-kill pile. She chose a mouse and padded away. She found a large hole in the snow (someone probably dug it out) that showed shome grass. Juniperpaw settled down in it. When she was comfortable, she began to groom herself.

Later on, after finishing her meal, Juniperpaw made her way towards Talonstrike. "I'm going hunting," she murmured.

Her mentor sighed. "Alright," he replied.

Juniperpaw turned. Once she was out of the camp, she ran. She didn't know where she was going, but she just _ran_. Mixed feelings churned inside her. She thought of Wolfpaw, how she hated Juniperpaw. She thought of the Clan, how they _all _hated hated her. Then, she thought of the life Redstar had given her.

Juniperpaw blinked, swerving to the side and narrowly missing a tree. SunClan had given Juniperpaw the life she never had, though they all hated her. It was better than being alone. But...

She sighed. Where did she really belong? _Nowhere_, she thought to herself bitterly. _I don't belong _anywhere. _Nobody likes me, nobody cares for me, nobody-nobody..._

It felt somewhat wrong, thinking these negative thoughts about herself, and she hated the feeling it gave her. But it was _true. _

Suddenly, something collided into her side as Wolfpaw had done and fear clenched Juniperpaw's stomach. She rolled, gagging as snow filled her mouth and began to go down her throat, choking her. She gasped. Something had attacked her.

Juniperpaw thrashed, trying to get up. "Stop!" she managed to yell out, her voice strangled. Panic pulsed through her and she gave out a yowl of fear. "Please! I can't breathe!" Paws flipped her back onto her back and released her. She gasped, coughing and hacking out snow.

"Oh! I'm sorry! You were just on our territory so I just..."

Juniperpaw ignored what the cat was saying. Once she regained her breath, she flung herself at the cat, anger surging through her.

"Wait-no!"

The cat fought back, tackling her back into the snow. The cat flipped her over and stared down at her.

Juniperpaw's eyes narrowed. This cat was familiar... He was the back tom that had come into SunClan camp a few days ago!

Juniperpaw studied him. Large, pure back fur, deep green eyes and was warrior-size.

The tom cleared his throat. "Hey...uh...aren't you that cat who nearly shredded me the other day?" he asked. There was a hint of teasing in his voice and his eyes became warm with friendliness.

Juniperpaw scoffed as a reply. "Yes." She didn't feel completely angered towards the tom, and felt odd at how civil she sounded.

The tom nodded.

An awkward silence hung between them until Juniperpaw coughed. "Get off," she said for the second time today.

The RockClan tom looked slightly puzzled for a moment, then, his eyes widened and he nodded. "Oh, yeah." He stepped off and instantly, he sunk into a pile of snow. His mouth opened in a scream but the snow piled on top of him and he disappeared.

Juniperpaw laughed.

Yes, she laughed for the first time in a long time. It came out of her mouth before she could control it, and now, she was trying to supress her giggling as the tom came back up from the snow.

"StarClan!" he exclaimed, shivering. He shook himself and snow sprayed around.

Juniperpaw gave out a half-yowl half-laugh of shock and sprang back as the snow landed on top of her. She didn't know why, but she found it hard to stay angry at the tom and suddenly, all her troubles seemed to have lifted as she watched the tom.

Juniperpaw laughed again. "Hey! Don't do that!" she purred.

The tom turned to her and a mischievous look entered his green eyes. "Oh yeah?" He sprang forward and managed to swat Juniperpaw's cheek playfully. He pulled her neck scruff and brought her down.

Juniperpaw laughed as the tom began to push snow onto her. "No!" she giggled. "Stop it!"

"Not so funny now, is it?" the RockClan cat teased.

Juniperpaw scrambled to her feet. Coldness swept through her and she shivered. A freezing, numb pain entered her body and she glared jokingly at the tom. "No!"

The tom gave out a _mrrow _of amusement and padded towards her. "Sorry," he mewed, still looking wild.

But Juniperpaw wasn't angry. She still felt joyful at the fun she shared with this tom. They were silent for a moment, and Juniperpaw decided to break it. "Wh-what's your name?" she asked. She remembered something about his name from a few days ago, but she couldn't quite get it.

The question wasn't something she would say normally, but she felt _different _today. _Good_.

The tom's head tilted to the side. "Stormpaw," he said hesitantly.

Juniperpaw nodded. Stormpaw. Yes, that was it.

"What's yours'?" Stormpaw asked.

Juniperpaw turned her gaze to him. "Juniperpaw," she said.


	9. Chapter 8: Beginnings

**A/N: So hey to my, like...six readers and reviewers. I'm sorry I haven't updated in a the last few days since I came back from vacation. Just let me tell you, jetlag does a lot of crazy things to you. Not kidding. Like on Sunday night, I fell asleep at like, 3:45 AM and woke up at 2:30 PM. -Sigh- Yes, so, Amber342 made a really good point. Touche to you, Amber! Juniperpaw is like, really different in the previous chapter, so to make everything seem more clearer, this chapter will be half Juniperpaw's perspective and half Stormpaw's. **

**So...onto the chapter.**

Juniperpaw froze, feeling the numbness from the snow crawl up her feet. Did she just say that? Did she just tell the _RockClan cat_, Stormpaw what her name was? Did she just _laugh_?

"Hey," the tom said, looking concerned. "Hey, you alright?"

Juniperpaw felt a surge of hostality pulse through her. She was so stupid! She couldn't be close to anyone, no, not again, not ever, not...not after what had happened a few moons ago. She stepped back. "I have to go," she said firmly.

Confusion stirred in Stormpaw's deep green eyes. "Why?"

Juniperpaw curled her lip and let out a threatening hiss. Her hackles rose and her tail lashed stiffly. Bristling, she snarled, "You should leave too. This isn't your territory, RockClan cat." She was aware of how odd it was for her to be so cheerful and troublefree just a moment ago.

Stormpaw narrowed his eyes. "But we were just pla-"

"I _know _we were just playing! I'm not _stupid_! Do I look stupid, mouse-brain?"

Stormpaw stared at her for a moment, then amusement lit up in his eyes and his whiskers twitched. "Well, _maybe_, I mean, aren't all SunClan cats..."

Juniperpaw sprang forward, furious. And for the second time today, she felt her claws latch into Stormpaw's fur. The tom slammed onto his back.

"Was that _really _ness-" he began.

Juniperpaw frantically searched for an excuse to get him away, then yelled, "Get off of our territory!"

Stormpaw shook his head and returned Juniperpaw's glare with his own. "We're on _my _territory. We always were."

_Fox-dung_. "Just _leave_, okay?"

"Same goes to you, Juniperpaw."

"Don't call me that."

"Why not?"

"We don't know each other."

"You're the one who asked for my name."

"You didn't have to answer."

"I answered because you asked."

Juniperpaw snorted. "I didn't know what I was doing, okay?" she huffed furiously.

"Oh," Stormpaw muttered. He rested his head against the snow and nodded. "Right," he said sarcastically.

Juniperpaw stepped of Stormpaw. _StarClan, he's so annoying... _"I'm off, alright?"

Stormpaw nodded. "Yeah, and maybe you should leave too."

Juniperpaw straightened herself and licked a ruffled piece of fur down. "My pleasure," she replied coldly and turned, making her way through the snow. Stormpaw was...annoying. That was the simplest way to put it. _Annoying like Wolfpaw, _Juniperpaw thought angrily. _And Talonstrike. And those rogues that left me. And...and life. _StarClan, why was it always like this? Why was she always thinking so low of herself?

"Wait!"

Juniperpaw didn't stop and pretened she didn't hear him.

"Hey! Juniper-uh, SunClan cat! Stop!" She heard the pounding of feet and felt the spray of snow on her back. Then, the tom was beside her, panting.

"What?" Juniperpaw asked angrily. "I'm _leaving_, alright?"

"No," the tom replied. "It's not that."

Juniperpaw didn't want to hear him, so she turned and continued walking.

"Hey!" the tom yelled. "I want to see you again!"

Juniperpaw froze for a second. Did he just ask her to see her again? No, it was impossible. No one loved Juniperpaw. No one ever did, and never will. She wouldn't let anyone love her.

"I'm serious," the tom said, catching up to her. "This isn't me for saying this, but I'm not joking. I want to see you again."

Juniperpaw shook her head quickly. "I don't want to see you," she snapped back, coldly, iciily.

He looked hurt for a moment, then shrugged. "I do. So, uh, here again? Same place? Tonight?"

"I'm not going," Juniperpaw warned, but deep inside, she felt something tingle inside her.

The tom shrugged again. "_I'll _be there."

"I'm _not_ going!" Juniperpaw repeated, raising her voice. _Not only is he annoying, he's also deaf?_

"Whether your going or not"-good. He heard her- "I'm just telling you that you can if you, uh, change your mind. Because I'll still be there."

"Whatever," Juniperpaw mumbled and began to leave. "Don't get your hopes up, mouse-brain."

* * *

><p>"<em>Echoflight?"<em>

_He shivers as he stares at the body. It's a mess. The she-cat's beautiful fur is ripped and blood is stained into it. One leg is twisted in an impossible way and her eyes are still half open, though bruised. _

"_No," he whispers, sinking into the ground beside the she-cat. "Echoflight, wake up." He knows she's dead. Everyone says so, but he doesn't believe them. She can't be dead. Not Echoflight. Not his mother. It wasn't...it wasn't _possible _for her to be dead. No... "Please wake up."_

_A small she-cat stands beside him. Her lip curls. "Suck it up, Stormpaw," the small warrior hisses. "She's dead, Stormpaw. She won't come back. Suck it up and go on with life. We need to go on a border patrol."_

_He ignored the she-cat and buried his small muzzle into Echoflight's dead, stiff body. "No," he whispers again. Horrible devastation hits him. "Stop faking it, mother, wake up!" He waits for her to get up, waits for her to raise head and comfort him like she always did. She never woke up._

"_Why aren't you answering?" he asks quietly. He knows the answer, but he doesn't want to believe it. Closing his eyes, the tom sobs._

_His mother will never return._

Stormpaw blinked his eyes open and lay there for a moment. _Echoflight's gone. _ Stormpaw winced at his own thoughts and sighed. "I know she's gone," he told himself in a voice that was barely a whisper. Icepaw was asleep beside Nightpaw. Dragonpaw lay in the corner of the den and the last three apprentices were dozing off at the back.

Stormpaw rose to his feet and began to make his way into the forest. It was freezing at night during leaf-bare, but Stormpaw learned to cope with it. At least Stormpaw was large enough that the snow only went halfway up his legs.

He settled down by the SunClan border. He thought of Juniperpaw, and how wrong this was to meet her here, that he had even hoped she would show up.

_Maybe she will, _he told himself. Then snorted. _Or not. _He curled his tail briskly around his paws and shivered. _Why did I even ask her? _he thought, scoffing. And it was true. Why _did _Stormpaw ask the she-cat?

_Because you're lonely, _a voice in his head told him, and Stormpaw a pull in his stomach when he realized it was true. He was lonely. He had no one. And Juniperpaw was there. Juniperpaw gave him the only happiness he truly had since Echoflight's...passing, even if Juniperpaw hated his guts.

Stormpaw sighed heavily and watched his breath float into the air and disappear. A tiny bit of hope inside him grew when he saw the figure of a cat walking towards him. That hope soon became truth when she appeared, her eyes narrowed into a menacing glare as she approached him.

Stormpaw managed to keep his face straight when he saw her. She had come after all!


	10. Chapter 9: Flashbacks

**Hey. ;D**

**So last night I just came back from a vacation again. We finally got back home at like, 2:30 AM. Our original flight was supposed to be from 7:30-11:00 but it got delayed. So we began boarding at 8:45 and the plane had some type of malfunction and we ended up flying at around 11:00. I was soooo tired…**

**ANYWAYS**

**Onto the story!**

Juniperpaw curled her lip to herself and lashed her tail, skimming the snow. She could see Stormpaw's amused eyes as she approached him.

"Pride isn't always there for you, isn't it?" he teased.

Juniperpaw lifted her head up and hissed. "It's _always _there, moron. Kind of like your stupidity." _Why'd I come here again?_

_Oh right. Wolfpaw._

Stormpaw's whiskers twitched and he licked his paw, and then ran it over his ear. "Really?" He set his paw down into the snow again; flinching at the coldness, then shook his head and continued. "Then why'd you show up then?"

Juniperpaw didn't want to answer, but she could see in Stormpaw's eyes that if she didn't, she would never see the end of it. She sat down in the snow, forcing herself not to react to it and make a fool of herself in front of Stormpaw. "A cat kicked me out of camp. Had nowhere else to go. Remembered you. End of story."

But that wasn't the end of the story. Juniperpaw had come back to camp when Wolfpaw had hopped up to her, boasting that her final assessment would be tomorrow. Of course, Juniperpaw almost shredded Wolfpaw's pelt off, but fortunately she managed to control herself. Wolfpaw then became angry that Juniperpaw didn't act jealous and this resulted into a chase, in which Juniperpaw, desperate to avoid fighting (as much as she wanted to) and getting kicked out of SunClan permanently, ran out of SunClan camp after the late evening patrol and found Stormpaw.

But of course, she didn't want to tell that to Stormpaw.

"A cat kicked you out?" Stormpaw repeated. "How does a cat kick you out of camp?"

Juniperpaw rolled her eyes and lowered her gaze to her feet, examining them as she pawed the snow. "Just shut up, okay? I didn't want to come here, ran into you, done."

Stormpaw was silent for a moment, then, with heavy sarcasm, said, "Okay."

No words followed after that. Juniperpaw didn't look up as she sheathed and unsheathed her claws, watching them slide into the snow. She instantly thought of Wolfpaw she shifted her paw, revealing marks. _I wish Wolfpaw was like the snow. _She almost purred at the thought of shredding Wolfpaw. _Hate her. I hate her. _

"You're killing the snow."

Juniperpaw raised her head and shot Stormpaw a look, sarcastically saying, _I'm killing the snow? _

Stormpaw's whiskers twitched and he flicked his ear. "Really. You think the snow is an enemy warrior or something?"

_Close. _"Similar," Juniperpaw murmured. She wasn't in the mood to talk, wasn't in the mood to _be_ here. She considered just standing up and walking away but she was scared of what would follow from Stormpaw.

"You are sadistic," the tom muttered.

Juniperpaw sprang to her feet, hissing violently. "Sadistic? _Sadistic?_" Juniperpaw bristled. _He calls me sadistic and he doesn't even know a thing about me! _She resisted the urge to claw his ears off, and turned tail, angrily stomping away. _I'm not sadistic. _They _were sadistic, the cats who called me their friend and then left me. I'm not sadistic. _She broke into a heavy sprint, squeezing her eyes shut and feeling the freezing wind on her fur.

"_What's your name?"_

"_A-Aurora."_

"_You are barely three moons old. Where are your parents?"_

"_Gone."_

"…_I see. You are helpless, kit. Come with us. We have food and shelter."_

"_Will you bring my daddy back?"_

Juniperpaw breathed in sharply, almost choking on the crispy cold air. She wanted to stop, wanted to curl up and cry out. She wanted to _give up_. Instead, she ran faster, ignoring Stormpaw's cries behind her.

"_He left after he…he…"_

"_He _what, _kit? What did your father do?"_

_Killed my mother_, Juniperpaw answered her memory. _My father killed my mother._

"_Do you want to join us, Aurora, dear?"_

"_Will my mommy and daddy be there?"_

"_Afraid not, kit. But you will die alone. You are still too small to hunt and kill."_

"_But I don't want to kill."_

"_But you must, kit, you must to survive. Do you want to join us, then?"_

"_But…but my mommy and daddy-"_

"_Aurora, dear, they are dead."_

"_No they aren't."_

"_Yes, dear, they are."_

Oh how Juniperpaw wished they were still alive. Perhaps she'd still be Aurora, perhaps she would be happy that way, perhaps she would be a different cat, not the one who hated everyone, every_thing_.

Perhaps her life would be perfect.

Juniperpaw let her legs give way, breaking her sprint. She collapsed into the snow and buried her face into her paws. _Aurora, dear, they are dead. _She repeated the statement over and over again to herself. She remembered sobbing after the tom finally convinced her that her parents were gone. She remembered nodding when he asked if she would join his band of rogues. And the pain, oh she remembered the shocking, sharp, fierce pain in her muzzle when he scratched her.

Worst of all, she remembered being betrayed, being left out there alone when she was only four moons old. And there she was betrayed once again, by the one whom she had loved.

Why was her life so messed up?

"Juniperpaw?" a voice said softly.

Stormpaw.

Juniperpaw blocked him out and closed her eyes. She forced herself to endure remembering his father striking a final blow at her own mother.

"Juniperpaw, are you alright?"

She wanted to answer him, to tell him to leave her alone, but her voice caught in her throat when she opened her eyes to look at him. His green gaze was full of concern.

"No."

Stormpaw gave her teasing look. "You don't sound very angry anymore." When Juniperpaw didn't answer, his face fell. "Oh StarClan, I'm really sorry. Should I…should I leave?"

Juniperpaw didn't answer and squeezed her eyes shut again.

_Why did you kill my mother, Father?_


	11. Chapter 10: Saved

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in like, two weeks! D: I'm reaaaaaally sorry. It's just that the last month and a couple weeks I've had to go on vacations. -grumbles- So when we finally got back I kind of got caught up in doing...things at home.**

**Jayfeahter: She means she has no life and has been busy watching The Simpsons and using her iPod 24/7.**

**Me: Shut up, Jayfeather And how did you get here?**

**Jayfeather: Magic. -waves paws in the air-**

**Me: You don't look very magical.**

**Jayfeather: T_T**

**Me: Anyways, I've also written two Maximum Ride one-shots and two new FanFics. One is an Maximum Ride fanfic that isn't a one-shot, (I don't know if any of my readers are fans of MR) and the other is a Warriors/Gone CROSSOVER! YAAAAAAY**

**Jayfeaher: N00b.**

**Me: T_T You're a cat. How do you know what a n00b is? Probably because he _is_ one. -snicker-**

**Jayfeather: What? Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I don't play any online games! I play World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Black Ops...**

**Me: -smacks face with palm- Never mind.**

**Jayfeather: -sticks tongue out- N00B N00B N00B!**

**Me: Just...uh...ignore him for the time being...**

Stormpaw stood over Juniperpaw, watching her curled up in the snow and twitching every so often. He looked around him, confusion causing him to sit down and lick his paw absently. _Did she just...run away and break-down? _He examined her, and saw that her eyes were opened slightly, filled with conflict. _Did something happen to her? _He stood up and padded over to her other side and gently nudged her with his nose.

"Don't bother me," she hissed weakly, her voice cracking with grief. "Just...just...don't..."

Stormpaw narrowed his eyes. "So I should leave?"

She didn't answer.

"Listen...I...I'm sorry for whatever's bothering you but...I-I'm kind of confused here..." he began, watching Juniperpaw's vivid dark green gaze as she opened her eyes.

"No...it's just..." she stumbled to her feet, not looking at Stormpaw.

_Something's wrong. She's not angry at me. _Stormpaw stepped back to give her room as she shook herself. "Did I say something?"

Juniperpaw quickly glanced at Stormpaw, and he could catch the fear and grief she hid inside her. "Kind of," she mumbled somewhat sharply. Her eyes met Stormpaw's for a brief moment and in that moment he captured the fear and hurt swimming in those vivid green eyes, the sorrow and grief that she had experianced. She quickly looked away.

Stormpaw turned his head to his paws and felt his pelt begin to burn and he quickly licked his paw, running it modestly over his ear. "I'm sorry," he muttered shyly. "Are you okay?" He expected Juniperpaw to snap at him, instead, much to his shock and confusion, she just shrugged.

"Fine. Been better," was all she said.

"Stormpaw?"

Stormpaw's fur stood on end as he whipped around. Horror washed over him and he sprang to his feet. "P-Puddlesplash!" he choked out. The only thing that ran through his mind was, _"Oh StarClan, have mercy on me!_" This was a warrior, a mentor, his sister's to be exact, and he had just caught Stormpaw in the midst of breaking the warrior code.

The usually calm warrior's green gaze hardened when he looked at Juniperpaw, who bristled as well and curled her lip into a vicous hiss. Puddleslpash stood higher, straightening his broad shoulders and growling back. "You are on RockClan territory."

Stormpaw stiffened and felt panic course through him. He snapped his head at Juniperpaw, who looked at him with a blank expression.

Juniperpaw's gaze held his and then she suddenly shrunk back, curling her tail between her legs, arching her back and laying her ears back in fear. She gave out a startled whimper.

_What the-_

_Oh!_

Realization hit Stormpaw and he growled at Junierpaw, making himself look larger as he advanced on her. "Leave! Go back to your own territory!"

Juniperpaw's eyes closed and she whined. "I'm sorry! I was just-I didn't mean..." That was all she said before she spun tail and raced back away from the trees and into the snowly moorland.

Stormpaw narrowed his eyes and turned back to Puddleslpash. He just watched the warrior and waited for him to say something. He didn't know whether he would be praised for chasing a enemy warrior off of RockClan territory, or found out for making up an act.

Puddlesplash turned his gaze to Stormpaw and cast him a friendly look that made Stormpaw's insides relax with relief. "Good job. SunClan doesn't belong here." He turned around, touching Stormpaw's shoulder gently with his tail and began to walk away.

Stormpaw almost collapsed from holding his breath. _Thank StarClan!_

"Oh, and Stormpaw."

"Yeah?"

"Better get back quickly. There's an important ceremony going on." Then, Puddlesplash disappeared.

Stormpaw sat. He felt no excitement for the ceremony and turned around. He padded to the edge of the border and looked, waiting for Juniperpaw. He sank back down and watched as she appeared from a bush. "Hey," he said lamely. "Thanks."

Juniperpaw stared, and then snorted. "Yeah, well, couldn't risk getting kicked out of SunClan." Then, after, Stormpaw caught the words, "as much as I want to."

Stormpaw rose and padded closer to her. Juniperpaw's eyes narrowed at that but she didn't move away. "What exactly...happened? Before Puddlesplash came?" he asked.

Alarm flared in Juniperpaw's eyes and she stiffened. "Huh? What? Oh, nothing," she stuttered and then stood up quickly. "I...have to go." Then, with a growl from her usual hot-tempered attitude, she retorted, "And it's none of your stupid buisness."

And she left.


	12. Author's Note

**Hi. :)**

**So, sad news here. I'm no longer continuing this story.**

…**...**

…**..**

…

**..**

**.**

**.**

**Hate me, love me, if you want, but I've lost interest in Warriors. It's just...not as interesting as it used to be. So this story is up for adoption. :) **

**Anyways, really sorry guys. Working on other stories for other books now. I'll tell you guys who's the new author of this fic once of picked a person based on their own stories.**

**-ACP **


	13. Author's Note Again

**Hey.**

**So, um, I haven't updated in months and I have no excuse for it. I'm just not committed. I'm 12, lazy and not ready for multi-chapter stories. I'm extremely sorry for the long wait, but I don't think I'll be updating anytime soon…**

**For now, I'll just write one-shots… so yeah. Sorry for all those who actually reviewed and followed me… thank you so much!**

**I'll probably re-write Rivals or Lovers (it honestly sucks) and A Different Way (there's only one chapter anyway… it still sucks though) when I'm much more matured and ready for multi-chapter fics. As for Stare... umm, just no… I'm not 10 and into Warriors anymore (no offense to Warrior lovers! I still love the series, just not as much). I'll probably delete it soon.**

**So, farewell, and hopefully you'll read my one-shots and stuff. (; **

**-ACP**


	14. Chapter 11: Thoughts

**Oh hey guys :)**

**So I was bored a couple days ago and I was reading back on my old fanfics after publishing a new one for Epic and I was reading this and I have to admit…**

**I was pretty good at writing for an 11-year-old.**

**And I felt so bad for just discontinuing it seeing as I worked so hard to make it happen with the Create-A-Cat and how I had really faithful reviewers, and the fact that this story really isn't that bad. **

**So, lucky you if you're still into this fandom after 2 years, I've decided to write one more chapter and potentially more if I feel up to it.**

**But honestly guys, I haven't read anything about Warriors for at least a year and my writing skills haven't improved and have possibly downgraded because I've been a lazy teenager. I've also forgotten how these characters have been developed, so I'm basing everything off of the allegiances and past chapters and making things up as I go.**

**Like how I've forgotten what Juniperpaw's backstory is… oops. I'm relying solely on the flashbacks mentioned earlier.**

**So I'm sorry if the following will suck balls. **

**But without further ado, here is the nice, extremely long, Chapter 11 of Stare.**

**-BM**

* * *

><p>"You did good out there," Puddlesplash said approvingly as Stormpaw ran to catch up to him.<p>

_Except it was an act, _Stormpaw thought absently.

Puddlesplash slowed his pace as the apprentice fell in step beside him. "I have to say, I always figured there was a warrior somewhere in there," he joked half-heartedly.

Stormpaw looked at his paws incredulously as they made their way back to RockClan camp. What was that supposed to mean? He _figured _there was a warrior somewhere in there? Normally, Stormpaw would have asked Puddlesplash about it but his mind was clouded with thoughts of Juniperpaw, the mysterious light ginger she-cat that seemed to have the personalities of a billion cats in one. One moment she was bitterly cruel to him and the next she was acting like a vulnerable kit cowering from a badger.

"You know, Frostwing doesn't speak very highly of you." Puddlesplash suddenly remarked, tearing Stormpaw away from his troubling thoughts.

Stormpaw's ears perked up and he raised his head, giving Puddlesplash a mock-surprise look. "_Oh_," he said. "Is that so?"

Puddlesplash seemed to catch his distaste for his frosty ** (haha)** mentor. His eyes glowed with amusement. "She says you're a 'disobedient little kit'," he added loosely.

Stormpaw looked down back at his paws. _Figures_, he thought hastily to himself. Frostwing never thought he would be suited to be a warrior. _Maybe if she let me spend more time training and less time collecting moss she'll see that I'm just as good as anybody else, _he fiercely thought. How was he supposed to show his fath – Hailstar, that he wasn't just the kit that his mother killed?

"_No. It's not your fault. It's not your fault at all." _

Yet Hailstar had uttered those words to him yesterday night.

Maybe… maybe Hailstar wasn't what Stormpaw thought him to be. Maybe he didn't have to redeem himself.

Puddlesplash seemed to notice his silence. "Stormpaw, you're a great apprentice," he said softly. "You'll do great things for RockClan one day. Frostwing just… hasn't quite seen that yet."

Stormpaw shrugged nonchalantly, thoughts still floating heavily in the back of his head. He focused on his paws and began counting the steps left to take to reach camp. _… six, seven, eight, nine…_

"She'll ease up to you, Stormpaw."

… _twelve, thirteen, fourteen fifteen…_

"She's a _great _warrior. Perhaps you may even be_ lucky_ to have her."

… _eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one…_

"She's _really _not that bad and-"

"_Stormpaw,_" Frostwing's sharp voice suddenly interrupted."You ignorant, _disobedient little kit_! What have you done know, huh? Did you _accidently _stumble into SunClan territory again? I let you go hunting alone, something as _simple_ as that, yet you just seem to mess it up…"

Stormpaw shot a look at Puddlesplash. _I told you so. _

"Whoa, Frostwing, cool down a bit, would you?" Puddlesplash eased, padding past the smaller she-cat into camp.

"_Cool down? _Puddlesplash, you are one goofball," Frostwing retorted sarcastically.

Stormpaw stood silently behind the two warriors, waiting to be dismissed. A bit of his stomach twisted at the fact that Frostwing thought so little of him, but he quickly ignored it because he was so used to it by now.

"He didn't do anything wrong, Frostwing," Puddlesplash replied calmly, "He did good." Puddlesplash whisked his tail over Frostwing's noise in an attempt to irritate her, then turned away towards a group of warriors socializing quietly at the mouth of the warriors' den.

"Then why-" But Puddlesplash was already too far from them to be heard.

Frostwing hissed, tail whisking back and forth in anger. "The _nerve _of that cat," she muttered. Then she turned to glare at Stormpaw.

He felt like shriveling up under her piercing glower. It was like her eyes were ripping into his soul, slowly tearing away at every mortal feeling he had. "Uh, hey Frostwing," he said uneasily.

She shook her head. "'Go easy on him,' he says. 'Give him a break,' he says," she was growling to herself, mocking Hailstar's words to her. "But look, Hailstar, I did! I got him up for early morning patrol, then give him the day to go hunting and look what he does!"

"You don't know what I d-"

"But I don't even _know _what he did! That stupid Puddlesplash is probably covering for him. They're probably working together to destroy RockClan from within, like a secret mission," Frostwing was muttering, "Probably working with TreeClan. Stupid TreeClan…"

Feeling like he was interrupting some type of inner banter, Stormpaw quietly slipped away from Frostwing, wincing as he heard her call after him, "_I want you up at dawn for patrol!" _

Stormpaw groaned, already missing the short walk he had shared with Puddlesplash.

_Icepaw, you lucky fleabag._

* * *

><p>Juniperpaw silently made her way back to SunClan camp, wishing she could just disappear back into her loner life and never have to deal with these stupid Clan cats again.<p>

But SunClan offered food, warmth, and the company of other cats. And that was something Juniperpaw longed for. So she decided she would stay.

At least, until she got kicked out; which she figured would be pretty soon based on how the other cats were treating her.

She sighed as she entered SunClan camp. She spotted Wolfpaw and Berrypaw, the rudest cat besides Wolfpaw, snickering about something to each other by the fresh-kill pile. Ashpaw and Dawnpaw were inside the apprentices' den, silently dozing off after what looked like a hard training session based on their ruffled furs. The last two apprentices of SunClan were nowhere to be seen. Juniperpaw assumed they were somewhere with their mentors for a late night patrol or something.

She settled herself down at the back of the camp, which she had grown familiar with after countless nights of being kicked out of the apprentices' den by Wolfpaw and Berrypaw. She lied down, resting her head on her paws as she stared out at the rest of the camp.

"_It's almost leaf-bare. We can't keep taking in every loner we see."_

"_So what do _you _suggest then?"_

"_Kick her out."_

"_What?"_

"_She hasn't been here long, and she's just another useless mouth to feed."_

Juniperpaw squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to squeeze the memories out. _Stop it! _she screamed at herself.

"_She's just a kit!"_

"_A useless one."_

"_Well what about_ my _kits_,_ then?"_

"_Rain, you know that's different-"_

"_No it's not! It's not _any _different!"_

There was a sharp tug from her paw, something soft between her claws. Juniperpaw heaved a breath and opened her blurry eyes, raising her paw and seeing that she had dug her claws deep into the snow from agitation. _She just needed to stop thinking._

"_Aurora."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_You can't stay with us." _

"_Huh?"_

"_I'm – I'm sorry, baby, you know how he gets…"_

"_W-what?"_

"_You need to get out." _

"_No! I-I don't-I can't-I-"_

"_You have to, before he and the others return from hunting."_

"_What? Why? No! I won't! I won't!"_

Juniperpaw buried her muzzle deeper into her paws. Perhaps if she had simply _listened _she would be saved from the betrayal and despair that followed. Perhaps she wouldn't be as cold, as isolated, as willing to push cats away, push Stormpaw away-

_Wait._

Why was she thinking of Stormpaw? He was just some tom from a whole other clan; a stupid, annoying, persistent one.

What did _he _have to do with any of this? With any of her past?

She thought back to earlier their meeting this morning at how she had laughed at him. _Laughed_! And how later that night he was so utterly concerned at her.

There was just _something _about him that made her feel different, like she was accepted. He didn't mock her, didn't scold her, and he definitely wasn't as annoying as Talonstrike. Stormpaw was in all means annoying, but to say he was as annoying as Talonstrike was a little extreme.

Juniperpaw sighed, closing her eyes and letting sleep engulf her. Dully, she noted that sleep probably wouldn't cooperate with her tonight after those chilling flashbacks.

* * *

><p>Stormpaw was staring at his paws again. He found counting his steps relaxing and it took his mind off of things now. It distracted him from things like Frostwing, who was currently padding in front of him beside Stonetumble.<p>

Stonetumble and Dragonpaw had been joining them for early patrols the past few days as punishment for Dragonpaw wandering into SunClan territory.

"Borders look okay," Frostwing was saying to Stonetumble, who simply grunted in response. "There's no one here."

Dragonpaw bounded ahead of the two warriors and halted at the border separating RockClan from TreeClan. "Can we hunt?" he asked excitingly. "No one's here, you said it yourself! We can get squirrels! Squirrels _never_ come into RockClan territory but they're _everywhere_ in TreeClan territory! Maybe we can bring some back and… and the other apprentices will be _so _happy and-"

"Dragonpaw!" Frostwing yelled. "_Shut up._"

Dragonpaw just grinned lazily, resting back on his haunches as he licked his paw. "Whatever you say Frostwing. I'll obey you no matter what." He turned to Stormpaw and winked in a very unsubtle way.

Stormpaw rolled his eyes and casted his glance away and found himself staring longingly at the direction leading to SunClan. His thoughts lingered to Juniperpaw. Maybe he would see her again…

"Let's get a move on. C'mon Stormpaw, quit daydreaming," Frostwing called icily and flicked her tail at the two apprentices. Stonetumble was already ahead of them.

Stormpaw padded towards them, passing Dragonpaw in the process. He eyed the other apprentice, giving him a look that said, _don't get caught this time_.

Dragonpaw beamed at him.

He knew exactly what the ginger tom was thinking and what his intentions were. He'd fallen victim to his foolish schemes before.

Stormpaw caught up to Frostwing and Stonetumble and he amusingly noted that the hadn't even noticed Dragonpaw's absence.

"Let's check out WaterClan next," Frostwing mewed. "Then we'll make sure those SunClan mouse-brains haven't ventured close to-"

"_Stonetumble!_" a panicked, choked, cry suddenly came.

The gray tabby's head jerked at the sound of his name. He turned, running towards the source of the voice.

Frostwing looked alarmed. "What in StarClan's-"

"It's Dragonpaw," Stormpaw breathed, chasing after Stonetumble and not bothering to explain why Dragonpaw wasn't with them. He heard Frostwing panting behind him.

When they reached the TreeClan border, they found Dragonpaw bristling a few cat-lengths away from the border. Three cats stood in front of him, all reeking of TreeClan scent.

"What do _you _want?" Frostwing spat, pouncing towards them. "Get off our territory!"

Stonetumble stood towering over them and Stormpaw quickly darted towards Dragonpaw. "Hey," he said reassuringly. "You alright?"

The ginger looked frightened. "They-they just came out of _nowhere!" _

_From the trees_, Stormpaw absently observed. After making sure Dragonpaw wasn't going anywhere, he bounded towards Frostwing and Stonetumble and stood bravely beside them.

In front of him was a large silver tom with his head held high and behind him stood a small, light brown tabby tom and a pale ginger and white she-cat. Stormpaw outsized two of them, but stood head to head with the silver tom.

"I need to talk to Hailstar," the silver tom said in a commanding and serious tone.

"Get out of here Thornstrike," Stonetumble growled, tossing the TreeClan's statement aside, and Frostwing bristled even more.

"No, you don't understand," the other, smaller, tom said suddenly. His voice was high and full of energy. "Something's happened that involves both of our clans."

Frostwing opened her mouth to speak but was suddenly interrupted.

"What?" Stormpaw blurted out. He instantly regretted it when all six pairs of eyes turned to him, all staring coldly. He felt smaller under their gazes. "What involves us? TreeClan's problems are your _own _problems. So don't try and involve us unless you're ready to tell us why." He was shocked at how solid his words came out, like he had authority or something.

The large tom, Thornstrike, turned to him and hissed. "Back down, apprentice. This involves warriors, not apprentices like _you_ trying to do something you can't."

The timid-looking she-cat finally spoke up, "Thornstrike-"

"Quiet, Flowerdapple."

But Stormpaw was angered. How dare he underestimate him? "No," he replied coldly and dug his claws into the snow. "I won't back down. If this involves RockClan, then it involves _all _of RockClan."

He felt Frostwing's gaze on him before he saw it, and when he turned to look at her he saw that the expression she held was unwavering yet kind. He felt his stomach flutter with excitement. Had he impressed her?

"Fine," Thornstrike said coolly. He turned back to Frostwing and Stonetumble. "Take us to Hailstar and we'll explain everything."

Frostwing glared. She turned to Stonetumble who simply gazed back. "Fine then," she spat. "Come with us."

Stormpaw turned hastily to follow them as they made their way back to camp. He stared at his feet. _One, two, three, four… _When he looked up, he saw that Frostwing was looking back at him, her gaze flashing something undistinguishable before she turned away, leaving Stormpaw confused.

When they finally reached camp, all RockClan eyes had turned to them in shock. Murmurs exploded amongst the cats and Stormpaw saw Icepaw staring intently at him, her usual optimism gone. He gazed just as intently back at her.

"This is a surprise."

Stormpaw turned his attention back to the situation at hand and saw that Hailstar had emerged from the leaders' den. He stood tall and defiant in front of the strangers that had entered his territory.

"Thornstrike, Hareleap, Flowerdapple," Hailtar greeted stiffly, nodding his head at them. "What brings you into RockClan territory?" He was calm, but coldly polite. Stormpaw admired Hailstar's level-headedness in this situation. Beside him, RockClan's deputy Fallsnow looked just as cold.

The three TreeClan warriors looked uneasily at each other, before Thornstrike stepped up.

"Rogues," he said evenly yet hoarsely. "They passed through TreeClan territory and are in RockClan territory."

* * *

><p><strong>There y'all go! around 2800 words! Longest chapter yet! :) I think…<strong>

**So what do you think? I had to do LOADS of Warriors research in order to write this chapter.**

** We're given a little revelation on Juniperpaw's past, and a single name: Rain. (*nudge*checkouttheallegiances*nudge*) **

**To all those who participated in the create-a-cat, I'm sorry if I've gotten your characters wrong. I'm pretty sure Juniperpaw's past was supposed to be different but I'm just making things up based on little knowledge.**

**Most of this chapter was just some filler stuff, but things started to pick up at the end. Cliffhanger! **

**I actually think I might continue this… School starts in September and I have A LOT of free time on my hands and I'm starting to get back into writing so here you go!**

**Thanks to all my faithful followers who have stayed with me until now :)**

**Bye!**

**-BM**

**(PS: I found a song that kind of fits Rain telling Juniperpaw to leave: I Don't Love You by My Chemical Romance :) Give it a listen and tell me what you think!)**


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